


If Only Human

by AlchemK, Tumtumthomasto



Category: Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Relationships, Multi, Other, Shadow Weapon! Yosuke, Shadows (Persona 4), android!Yosuke, except Yosuke is an android like Aigis, it's an au where everything is basically the same
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-16
Updated: 2016-01-13
Packaged: 2018-05-07 00:30:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5436707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlchemK/pseuds/AlchemK, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tumtumthomasto/pseuds/Tumtumthomasto
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yosuke was one of them. Lovingly called "Hanamura" at times, as he perhaps looked like a Hanamura. Well, as much as an android could look human anyways. Which was, surprisingly, a lot. The Kirijos had taken great care into making their androids look as human as possible, just for the sake of comfort. Though, sure, his face and body looked completely human, he was still metal, nothing new there. </p>
<p>An AU in which everything is the same, but Yosuke is an Anti-Shadow weapon that is acclimating to human society. He meets a city boy named Souji Seta and learns that there's more life in him than he originally thought. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>(This is a fic compiled from an rp with a dear friend of mine!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 01

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AlchemK](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlchemK/gifts).



April 11, time to move once again. 

Souji Seta cast his eyes around the busy train cart, clinging tightly to his luggage. This one was crowded, hopefully the next one he would be boarding would have less passengers, less noise. A sigh escapes his lips and he shifts about uneasily, not entirely nervous about his destination but more along the lines of exasperated. His parents had demanding jobs, which required them to move about the land almost every year. They enjoyed it, for they were very successful in their endeavors but for a child growing up in this lifestyle it was arduous to make connections with people. A year is a short period of time to make friends, especially ones that stick around even if one moves away. The children, the preteens, and the school-goers that Souji had encountered had always put up a good face, promising to stay in touch even after he leaves. Lies, always lies, no one has made notion to contact him since elementary school. The last school he had attended, only for a year of course, didn't seem to mind he was leaving or put up much protest. He never made much effort to connect, knowing that it was bound to be finite relations, ones that were painfully short-lived. Why bother if you're going to be torn away from it all soon? He finds himself asking that question each time he enters a new place. There isn't much point at all, is typically the conclusion. Hence, his exasperated state. 

Souji checks his phone, flipping it open and waiting for the small screen to hum to life. 'Meet us at the Yasoinaba station at 4pm' The message read. The sender was from a Dojima Ryotaro, his uncle to whom he supposedly met as a child. Parents have a knack for telling their children about relatives they've met in the past, stating that they will remember them even though these children never do. Souji cannot recall anything about his uncle, nor the area in which he resided. His mother had depicted it as a nice place in the country side, if the description held it's worth, Inaba should prove to be a nice change of scenery. He's always been fluttering about the city during his family's wayfaring. A more rural area would be new, almost refreshing in a sense. He would only truly know when he arrived.

The train system continues and Souji boards the last of three metros, it was quite a long journey from the city his family had last been living in to Inaba. He was used to the lonesome rides however. This time there aren't as many people crowded about and Souji even manages to get an empty seat.   
In his moment of reprieve, he recalls fragments of an unusual dream he had on the earliest section of his train experiences that day. Blue, a deep and rich shade painted the walls and floors of the area his dream had taken place. Two unusual people were seated in the blurry space, one with a comically long nose. They spoke of fortune telling and tarot cards. Upright tower and upright moon, if Souji's memory served him. Dreams have always been a difficult event to commit to memory. The two spoke of a tragic event in his future and mystery, lots of ridiculous and vague concepts slipped from their maws like snakes.   
Souji shakes his head, clearing his mind of the dream.

The area goes dark as a tunnel is passed through and the atmosphere changes immediately. It is as if the world has opened up, splitting into mountains and verdurous fields. His mother had a good point when she said Inaba was beautiful, Souji couldn't contain the minute smile that creased his lips at the sight. "Yasoinaba station, Yasoinaba station." The intercom hums out in a muffled tone to the passengers, Souji stood up, gathering his bags and shuffling out of the train's sliding doors.

As the other individuals about him trickled off and away from him, he stood looking around for the relative, you know the 'of course you know them, you met them when you were little' relative. A man's voice calls out to him, and he perks up at the sound. The source of the voice was a middle-aged man standing by a little girl dressed in pink. He approaches them and is greeted with a firm hand-shake. Ryotaro Dojima, his 'mother's younger brother', as the man described himself briefly. "It's been a long time." Souji says in response to it all, and the other lights up at the phrase.   
"I'll say. You've really grown. I still remember when you were in diapers..." Dojima says, and Souji concludes that he made a good choice in response judging by the fondness in the man's tone. Souji couldn't remember him well but his mother had of course mentioned him, so he could say this based on that knowledge. This man's daughter, Nanako was more reluctant in the greetings. She remained silent, huffing as her father urged her to introduce herself. She muttered a simple hello, in the meekest voice she could muster before going to stand behind her father again, a shy expression gracing her features. 

They soon proceeded to embark on the drive to the Dojima's house, the car having not been parked far from the station. The ride is hindered however by a stop at a gas station in the Central shopping district of Inaba. The large sign above the stations read: MOEL.

The attendant there seemed quite interested in the group as Nanako headed off towards the building to use the restroom, and Dojima and himself stood outside the car. Dojima explained to the curious attendant that they weren't going on a trip but in fact just picking him up from the 'big city'. As Dojima wandered off a bit for a smoke, Souji is left with the attendant who continues to ask him small questions about himself. She spoke of things such as part-time jobs due to the inactivity surrounding Inaba, and encouraged him to take up one at some point or another. As the conversation comes to a close she extends her hand for Souji to take it, and he did. A tingle prickles his palm as he does, but aside from that it is as normal as any handshake. Well, it seemed that way at first but Souji finds himself to have grown quite dizzy as the attendant resumed their duties. Nanako returns, curious as to whether or not he has grown car sick.

The moments to come are uneventful at best, resuming the drive over to the Dojima household. Souji peers up at the building, this will be his home for the next year. Time passes as he more or less settles in. Dinner comes and goes and the two welcome him as a part of their family, even if their time together will be short. Souji thanks them for their hospitality and kindness, receiving a remark from the man about easing up a bit.  
Dojima, unfortunately has to leave for 'business' and Souji finds himself left alone with his daughter. She seems tense and doesn't say much, simply switching on the TV and listening to the weather forecast. Rain for the next day or so with clouds moving in from the west, the weather announcer states. The meal is resumed and from Nanako Souji gathers the information that Dojima is a part of the police force of this area, a detective. Aside from that small talk, Nanako only speaks in regards to the boring news cast about an affair. The little girl perks up as she changes the channel, seeing that it is a commercial for a store called 'Junes'. She even goes as far to repeat the jingle, waving her hand around cheerfully. 

Afterwards, Souji settles into the room that he is borrowing from the family. It is small, and he as barely unpacked anything yet. But he doesn't find the space unappealing. He rouses up enough energy to sift through his bags for sleeping attire, making a mental note to actually unpack things soon. Lying on the bed, he feels as if his body consists of lead, if only he were able to sleep on those train rides. God only knows how long he has been awake for today.   
Sleep hits the teen like a ton of bricks. Souji dreams of fog, a thick and sight reducing haze laying over red tile. Nothing around can be visualized and he hears the faint sound of moaning off in the distance. A voice in his head asks him if he 'seeks the truth', but doesn't await his response. The voice continues, urging him to find it. The world around him continues to blur and fade into confusion and he finds himself opening a portal into void. A figure, to hazy to depict goads him into a fight. A sword lies in his hands yet it feels weightless. Souji finds that in this dream, he is almost acting on some unseen force. He raises his hand into the air, clutching some liquid force that ignites the blood in his veins as if it were gasoline. He feels, a spark followed by a movement of something behind him yet something unseen. 

"Everyone sees what they want to...and the fog only deepens." The figure says, vanishing within the offending fog. Blackness, a darkness, fills the corners of his vision within the dream and with a start he is awake. Souji takes a deep breath, rattled from his dream. He runs his fingers through his hair and checks the time on his phone which lied on the nightstand. 2AM, now why couldn't he have slept until a more reasonable time? He stands up, pacing about the room and trying to make sense of his dream when a sound, ever faint, pierces his ears. He moves to the window, parting the curtain to see something illuminated in the flickering light of a street lamp. Oh, it was only a leg. Wait, a leg? Souji narrows his eyes in utter confusion and looks as closely as he can at the object lying outside. It appeared to be a leg, a human-like leg outside in the open. There was no blood however. Souji thinks now he might have entered one of those dreams where you wake up, only to be inside another dream.

His feet carry him down the stairs silently, and he pushes open the door to the home. Souji didn't even have shoes on, but that didn't matter if this was only a dream he concludes. The leg, lo and behold lay outside, spotlighted by the lamp. He pads over to it, bending down to pick it up. It was indeed as much of a leg as it appeared to be from the window, but at the base where a knee should be connected, there is nothing but wires and broken circuits. A robot leg? Souji blinks in thought, absolutely at a loss for what this meant in the scheme of anything. Why was there a mechanical leg out here in the street? Did this leg have an owner? Do people out here in the sticks throw robot appendages out in the middle of the night? He cannot grasp a clear answer to any of these questions but continues to examine the appendage as he stands out in the night.

 

1992

The Kirijo group was at it again. Their scientists were working like they always were, mechanics building and conforming to the blueprints laid out. The creation of the Dark Hour had only led to more and more creations and experiments. Shadows were their test subjects as well as their now growing concern, and so they had to develop a way to keep them at bay. And so, weapons and technology began being developed, and soon, they experimented with robots, almost sentient AI programs inside androids equipped with weapons capable of fighting back against these Shadows that threatened them. 

Yosuke was one of them. Lovingly called "Hanamura" at times, as he perhaps looked like a Hanamura. Well, as much as an android could look human anyways. Which was, surprisingly, a lot. The Kirijos had taken great care into making their androids look as human as possible, just for the sake of comfort. Though, sure, his face and body looked completely human, he was still metal, nothing new there. And his eyes were practically lifeless. The glint that appeared in those light brown eyes were merely from the light, and nothing more. He wasn't meant to be anything else but a weapon, instilled with the power of summoning his own Persona to fight against these Shadows, Jiraiya. 

Of course, he wasn't the only one. More and more anti-Shadow "weapons" of sort were being developed by the Kirijo group, and he was soon seen as....obsolete. Unwanted. Scrap metal. The newer androids were surpassing him in ability, and he wasn't needed anymore. Not that he was supposed to feel anything about this; emotions were not possible for a machine like him. Still, because of this ingrained Persona inside of him, this process of...deconstructing didn't go as well as they had thought it would. After all, a Persona emerged from a soul of some sort, even if this /was/ only an android. 

They stripped it from him, tearing away his Persona from him. Once they had started the process, his first feelings of physical pain could be felt surging through him. He had become completely aware of them ripping away at him from the inside now that his Persona was being forcefully pulled out of him. They were taking him apart piece by piece, and something inside him told himself that he /didn't want this/. This wasn't meant to be for him, why was this happening? This was, perhaps, the downsides to being sentient. 

As if as quick as ever, he struck out once he felt another pulse of pain, grabbing at a scientist's wrist harshly, crushing it under his metal grip before tossing him aside, rampaging out in a sort of irate panic. They tried to suppress and keep him under control, but they couldn't hold him, Yosuke injuring many and killing even more. It was his act of defense, and his last hurrah to keep himself still functioning in resistance to the scientists and mechanics of the Kirijo group. Machines and tools were destroyed, circuits along the walls sparked, broken glass from screens and windows alike shattered and strewn across the tile floor. There were no others conscious or alive around him, and so he proceeded to search for the parts that they had taken off of him. Being rather ineffective at repairing himself, he did the best he could, and at least it was decent enough to keep himself still able to walk, and even run. Though, it was still missing. It was gone. His Persona was gone from him just like that as a product of the narrow-minded scientists who decided to simply destroy him. 

But...   
What now? More were going to be sent over to the laboratory, this time armed, and they would scrap him for sure. The only logical thing he could do was.....  
Run.   
Run as far as he could from this dreaded place. And so, he did, as far as his legs could take him. 

2012.

Emotions were still odd concepts for him to grasp. What were they exactly? Did they look like anything went humans weren't expressing them? Where did they come from? Questions like these ravaged his mind, and they were always so difficult for Yosuke to process, he didn't dwell on them too much. But, something that definitely piqued him was how these humans used such emotions. Their whole society and their way of life was so...interesting. What if he became human too? Well, he could always pretend, at least. Even though he had gotten himself some decent-quality clothes and kept them in good shape, his metal body was suffering the wrath of time and the damage the scientists had done to him years before. Parts were constantly falling, and on his endless-seeming journey, he had collected parts to help support his weak status, and even cool looking headphones he wore around his neck all the time (now to find a good mp3 player to hook it up to so he could listen to music..). 

With his clothes on, he did look rather human, to be honest, and so he had mustered up the nerve to venture into the small, country-side town they called Inaba. It seemed the Dark Hour was either gone, or perhaps was not in affect in this part of the country. Hm. Either way, it gave him less to worry about, considering his ability of perception had been destroyed along with his ability to summon his Persona, and so he was just like any other regular android out there. Well, if there /were/ any regular androids out there, anyways. Either way, he was sure he'd fit in just fine in Inaba! Emotions were easy things he could feign, with the perk of his lips and change in demeanor, a fall and shrug of his shoulders or puff of his chest, these emotions were easily shown even if he couldn't feel them himself. 

It was around 2 AM, if he had read the clock correctly, and the joint at his knee socket really had to decide to act up, because it loosened, and the lower part of his leg, foot and all, had decided to fall off. Before he could pick it up to reattach it, he heard footsteps coming from the house nearby, and he hid in the closest thing possible. The trash can. Such a good idea at the time, but one that could be easily reconsidered once he had actually gotten in and realized that he probably would have been stuck inside if he had sat inside all the way. And of course, he did start to reconsider it slightly as he sat in the cylindrical metal bin, hearing someone come outside. He then peeked out from the top edge of the bin, glancing out to see the other pick up his leg, and look around. Well. This would be quite an introduction. Yosuke wanted to make "friends", as it had been something he had observed rather well, though had wanted to make the impression that he was actually human. But of course, this worked as an introduction too. 

"Hey, er...You mind handing that to me? It kinda...fell off while I was walking." the android said as he poked his head out from the trash, glancing at the other questionably.

This dream definitely topped the previous in regards to complete, utter bullshit. Souji finds himself standing outside in the dead of the night, holding a mechanical leg and talking to someone hiding in a trashcan. Nothing and literally nothing made sense in this situation and he found himself staring dumbly at the leg in his hands. It had 'fallen off while he was walking,' that's /totally/ normal. Souji narrows his eyes at the peculiar garbage specter, taking a hesitant step towards them. He cannot decide whether to ask, how or why? What was this person? Was this dream going to reach the level of robots-hiding-in-trash-bins? It seemed as if that was the case. 

Souji holds out the leg for the other to take, "I'm sorry about your...leg. This is your leg?" He murmurs, squinting into the space where the other had hidden. "Why are you in there?" He gestures to the bin. 

He noticed the other narrowing his eyes at him, and didn't wonder why. A guy hiding in a trash can had just claimed that the metal leg lying out in the open was his and had fallen off during his nightly stroll, of course that was a little weird. No, /a lot/ weird. Not that Yosuke cared at the moment, though. Might as well get his leg back and make a friend while he was at it at two in the morning. What a perfect time to make friends, what a good idea, Yosuke. Catch a human while he was tired, huh?

A laugh, no a giggle, bubbled up into his throat despite Souji's efforts to stifle it. This was too insane to be real and he couldn't help but laugh at the bizarreness of his own dreamscape. It was two am, this kid hasn't had any considerable amount of sleep so the laughter is borderline hysterical. His hand shakes around his grip on the metal appendage as he shivers with mirth. He bites his lip in a frail attempt to silence himself, thinking for a moment that it must be pretty hurtful to laugh at someone who's leg has detached. That thought then only leads to more giggling at Souji swears he might just pass out.

Yosuke reached out to grab back his leg the other held out to him, holding and looking at it for a bit before he glanced back up at the other, light-browns looking over the other's figure. "Yes, it is." he confirmed bluntly before the other asked him another question. "I uh...thought it would be a good idea to hide because...well...seeing a guy hopping around with one leg isn't the best thing, I guess." he said, almost as if confused at his own logic before the other started to laugh. 

A light frown spread on his face at the laughter, Yosuke trying to get out of the trash while the other occupied himself with that. As he tried to stand up, he ended up stumbling over, falling to the ground as well as tipping over the trash bin he was in, giving an awkward grin at it as he chuckled at himself, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly before simply sitting down at the ground, not attempting to stand up anymore; nothing good could come out of that with only one complete leg. After hastily attaching it back, a bit crudely might he add, he looked up at the other and held out his hand for the other to shake. "The name's Yosuke. Yosuke...." What was a good last name? Ah, maybe...."...Hanamura. It's nice to meet you!"

As the boy clambers out of the trash, Souji collects himself from his moment of hysteria. He recalls the dream he had on the train, was this the mysterious and tragic event the strange man had spoke of? It surely was tragic to just have your leg fall off, but Souji thinks that maybe this isn't the situation they had meant. That is, if any of that tarot card babble had any worth or meaning outside his dreams. Perhaps the previous dream to this one, the truth seeking and the fog. If this series of events had anything to do with the 'truth', Souji didn't know. 

He draws himself out of his thoughts, taking notice that the other had reattached his leg. A hand was outstretched for him to shake, from the others position among the ground. Luckily no weird tingles or dizziness followed this one, only a name. Yosuke Hanamura.   
"I'm Souji Seta, nice to meet you Yosuke." He offers a small smile in response to the android's gracious introduction. This entire predicament was quite a scene.


	2. 02

Souji, then? What a perfectly normal name. Well, it sounded pretty normal anyways from the names he had heard over the years of his arduous, long walk to here, the little town of Inaba. After the handshake, he gave a slight smile, then pushed himself off the ground, stumbling slightly before he recovered his balance, testing he leg he had just reattached before he standing normally once more. It'd probably fall off again, but at least it was somewhat sturdy for now. 

Souji's time in Inaba was early in its development but this event might just take the cake for the whole year. Souji would think that this moment could be described as the 'best/weirdest first day in a new town' but given that it was two am, the first day had already slipped away. Bummer. "What are you doing in Inaba? Not that I really /know/ anyone here, that is if you've been here long. I got here like, less than twelve hours ago." Souji finds himself in a bit of a ramble, deciding that perhaps he shouldn't bombard Yosuke with questions, loosing an appendage might have been pretty traumatic, even if it wasn't apparent in the others stance. Nonetheless, he awaits a response.

"Here in Inaba?" the android repeated in question, running his fingers through his hair as he let out a huff. He didn't really mind the questions, it made him feel better inside, more...wanted. Plus, that whole limb losing thing wasn't very traumatic, it happened a lot over the years ever since /that/ day. "I came here a couple hours ago, I was just walking around, is all. Though, to tell you the truth, I really have nowhere to go. I've been wandering for a while, hence this piece of crap leg. Actually..." A thought came into his mind. A thought that didn't seem very smart or wise, but it was an idea nonetheless.  
Souji finds himself feeling more or less relieved, at least he wasn't the only one fresh into Inaba. Well, the other wasn't exactly the most normal visitor but nonetheless Souji no longer feels the typical awkwardness of being the only new one in town. He thinks for a moment that he probably shouldn't be plagued with such worry, given that he moves home so often. As Souji draws himself from his thoughts, he looks to Yosuke's leg. How much would someone have to walk to have their leg completely detach. Perhaps this android was a vagabond of sorts. Further capturing his attention is the 'actually', it implied something else was to come and honestly, nothing at this point would seem surprising. 

Now, onto the question at hand. Could Yosuke stay there? He was in need of a place to mend his...wounds? Would you call such an occurrence a wound? He doesn't know the answer to this, or to the other question but he might as well take a shot at it.  
"Well, given the current time, no one is awake to deny you staying. For now you can just...sneak in." He says almost hesitantly, turning his head to look back towards the entrance to the Dojima's home. Souji barely knew his uncle, didn't have a clue as to this man's preference towards guests. He hasn't even been there a day so it would seem a bit odd. He supposes that this could indeed be seen as sneaking. "Nonetheless, we can give it a shot." He concludes, more as an affirmation to himself than to the other. 

Souji cuts his eyes at Yosuke one last time as he heads towards the door. It dawns on him that this might not be a dream at all, it seems to solid to be something unreal. He also takes note that he still has no shoes, and the chill of the pavement was seeping into his skin. "This way." He says.  
Immediately when the other called him over, he followed, trying to be as quiet as possible. He was rather light for an android, being that he had been initially designed for speed and agility, and so his footfalls were silent despite his deteriorating condition. Once he passed through the door frame, it had been almost as if he was in a new world, as it had been rather long since he had stepped foot into a building of any sort. Wow.

When Yosuke thought about it, he had rarely stopped during his journey, to be very honest. The only times he really did stop were to maybe lean against a pole and try to tighten a loosening screw, or maybe when he sat down for a couple minutes to admire the scenery or fix some more parts the threatened to fall off or break down. He had gotten far enough from the laboratory, he suspected, there was no need to run anymore. But, an endless stroll was nice. Now, maybe it was time to take a break from that venture to fix himself up to a point where he didn't have to worry about falling apart right in the middle of a road or something.  
It was surprising that Souji actually /accepted/ his plea to settle down in his home. Literally. He just...accepted it right then and there. Sure, he could hear the hesitance in his voice, but it was still essentially a /yes/. Yosuke gave a cheeky grin and bowed his head in thanks before straightening up again. "Thanks! I'll make sure I won't be a pain the ass, I swear it!" he promised, understanding that housing another being in one's house could be a bit burdening. Well, at least he didn't need to eat, that was a big help. 

Souji thinks of how it is actually quite difficult to be incredibly hospitable at this hour when sneaking about. He finds himself feeling as if this home isn't quite his home yet, or really, was any place he moved to really a home? Homes are long lasting locations, family oriented, blah blah the whole schlemiel. Souji's mind wanders to a rather depressing path, he's never really had the typical interpretation of a home. All the places he has stayed with and without his parents have been temporary.

That didn't matter, no point harping over things out of his hands he decides. He peers back at Yosuke who seems to be quite immersed in the wholeness of the home. Souji thinks that Yosuke has probably never had much of a home either, only in a more literal sense. 

He ushers the poorly put together robot up the stairs to his room, taking a seat on the bed once inside.   
Heading up the stairs was a bit nerve wrecking for Yosuke, considering at how much of a klutz he truly was. He did try out a bike once, and he promptly broke it in the span of thirty minutes after crashing into something. And not to mention he himself was breaking apart, half because of his past struggles to escape, the other half being his clumsiness. Stairs were his mortal enemy, and luckily, he had avoiding tripping and toppling down like an idiot.   
Tiredness pricked at Souji's eyes, gnawing at his brain as the feeling demands him to sleep. Not yet, he thinks. There are still more things to sort out before promptly passing out. School did start tomorrow, what a wonderful impression he will make having NO sleep. Souji looks around the small and box filled room. "I don't exactly know what you require in a place of rest. " He simply states, "Whatever you do need, I'll do my best to..." A yawn interrupts his speech and he shakes his head, "help." He finishes.  
Once inside the other's room, he glanced around once more before taking a seat on the ground. "It's fine, I mean...I don't need to sleep, so you can just do your thing and I won't bother you." Humans needed their sleep, after all. And it seemed like Souji was no exception to this. Yosuke would just fix himself up and sit through the night; that was something a bit different, considering that he would usually be walking to who knows where at this point.   
"Er...Thanks again for this. If you need anything, I'll be glad to help out, it's the least I could do for you letting me stay." he said with a smile, sitting with his legs crossed, light brown eyes dull yet sharp, focused on the tired other.  
Souji allows another yawn to escape his lips, squinting out at the android that had taken a seat on the floor. His gaze nearly implies that he still thinks this is a dream. As if eyes could say, 'you will probably vanish by the time I wake up again.' He rubs his eyes, listening to the other speak. "Sorry for the mess." Souji says in nearly a whisper, gesturing to the room as a whole as he falls over onto his side with an 'oof'. 

He didn't even have the energy to move a blanket towards him, he simply fell asleep right then and there. The sleep one gets when they are extremely tired is always the best, no dreams, only darkness and a swiftness like water through a rushing stream.

When the other had fallen asleep, Yosuke glanced around, then fixed his eyes on the small television. It was almost as if he felt something from the tiny screen, something...within. What it was the android couldn't tell, but one thing he knew for sure was that something was a bit off. Not that he could do anything about it, though. For now, he was left to tend to his own matters.  
Throughout the night, he had fiddled with the screws at his legs, trying to tighten them, and occasionally fumbling with them and having to recover the small screws once more to tighten them back in. Maybe some working tools would really have helped. Next time, perhaps. 

Souji Seta wakes with a jolt, as if he has been electrocuted. He sits up and quickly looks around to see if the occurrences of last night held any truth.

Yosuke was siting under the table now, taking a break to just take in his surroundings, when Souji just suddenly jolted up. Yosuke shot a glance at him, giving a blink before smiling a bit, scooting out from under the table and giving a wave to the awoken other. "Hey, good morning! Something wrong? You woke up kinda suddenly there." he said as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

 

As he squints about the haziness of his room, slowly moving his legs off of the bed, he sees that there is nothing out of the ordinary. Everything is as it was when he had gone to sleep that night. Boxes remained in their unpacked state along the floor, not a thing about the room appeared to be amiss.   
He found that to be a bit relieving, no strange android boys wandering about his room. Everything was normal and that was good. Why had he even had such a strange dream in the first place? First it was tarot cards and weird-nose men and then helpless androids. Souji recalls once hearing about the dreams of an individual reflecting their mental state, what could these dreams reflect about himself? He's thinking to much.   
With that he urges himself to stand up, to start the day. Moving forwards, past these dreams is the best way to continue onward in the scheme of life.

Whatever glorious self-revelation that the boy had come to in that moment of time collapsed in seconds at the sound of the other's words. If it were possible for someone to jump out of their skin, that would be an accurate description of what Souji does. Almost like a startled cat he jerks about, twisting around and falling right off the bed and into the floor. In the moments to pass Souji lays there in the floor, breathing sharply and trying to collect himself. There /under/ the table was Yosuke, the android he had discovered and let into the home last night. Why on earth he was under the table was beyond Souji's comprehension, more important thoughts breached his processing. WHY WAS ANY OF THIS REAL? Last night he must have seemed very chill towards the concept of Yosuke's existence, but now that the reality of the situation was apparent he finds the chillness escaping him.  
Souji makes a small "wh" sound under his breath in a questioning manner, squinting at the other from his sideways position along the floor.

Yosuke wanted to say that he half expected seeing Souji get startled like that, but having it actually happen didn't exactly bode well with him. Then again, this wasn't an everyday occurrence, housing an android that was falling apart little by little. Still, the android took note to perhaps not be so sudden with the other just yet. For Souji's sake AND his own sake. He wasn't exactly aware that the other had thought their meeting was simply a dream. 

"S-Sorry! I didn't mean to startle you like that!" he said in apology. "I'll make sure not to do that again..." he said with a slight grumble at himself, the android running his fingers through his fawn-colored hair with a sigh. Already making people uncomfortable and it hadn't even been a full day yet. Yeesh, Yosuke, learn how to be a better social operator, will you?   
Oblivious to the other's disbelieving state, Yosuke got up from his position on the floor, standing up slowly to avoid his loose screws from acting up and loosening even further. Then, he extended a hand out to the other on the floor, offering it as support for the other to get up. "Here, sorry about that."

Souji rouses himself from his stupor along the ground, eyeing Yosuke's outstretched hand. After another moment of recollection, he takes the hand and pulls himself up from the floor. "Thanks." He murmurs softly to the aid, smiling along with the phrase. "I'm just a bit jumpy from being up so late." Souji continues as he further draws himself from the previous daze.   
Upon the other's smile, Yosuke gave his cheeky grin in return, pulling the other up to his feet after the moment of odd anxiety in the air. He could almost feel Souji's gaze upon his legs, and then heard the voice that would follow the observation as Yosuke had thought it would. "They're fine! I mean, I'm just gonna bust 'em up again like always, but at least I can walk without them just suddenly falling off on me." he said with a slight chuckle.

This was really happening, the robot and the...well all of last night was happening in reality. Souji would just have to accommodate for this. His steely eyes travel downwards to Yosuke's legs, they're more or less together. Though, he lacked the knowledge to truly understand if there was any repair. "How're your legs doing?" Souji chirps, cutting his eyes away and moving to shuffle about his room. A thought crosses his mind as he meanders about the box filled living space. Where had he put the school uniform? It was an item, a needed item, that had been ordered before Souji made the move to Inaba as well as it was one of the only things he had actually unpacked.

There is a knocking on the door, followed by a small voice. "Morning. Breakfast is ready." Nanako says after landing another knock. Nothing else is said seeing that she heads back downstairs soon after she speaks.

When he heard the small voice behind the door, he turned to face it immediately, hearing the soft knock as well, then looking back to Souji. "I guess I shouldn't have assumed you lived alone. I'll just do my best to make sure I don't get caught, then!" he said as he leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. Maybe the closet would be a good place to stay....Yeah, the closet seemed good enough for him.   
"So what do you do for the whole day anyways? Do you have...school?" It took him a moment to find that word, mostly because he wasn't very familiar with it himself. Why would he have needed to know it? He was an android made to fight Shadows. Of course, if he wanted to pass off as human, it was best to know at least these simple things about human society anyways.

Souji tilts his head in the direction of the voice, "I'll be down in a moment." He calls out to her as her footfalls exit the threshold of hearing. He is still occupied with rummaging through his closet in search of the uniform. As he delves deeper into the various other items inside he takes note of Yosuke's words. He momentarily imagines the time in which his parents will start dumping him places alone, or better yet, just not making him travel. When he hits age eighteen, he thinks, he should bring up just staying at their 'home' back in the city whenever their jobs require them to move. "If only I was able to live alone." Souji laughs from within the closet, having finally located the Yasogami-high uniform.  
Yosuke could never comprehend the idea of living with a /family/. The term family wasn't even one he was too familiar with either, to be rather honest. Yeah, he knew it was a bunch of people who were related to each other biologically, but that was about it. What was it like? What was the average family? What qualified to be a family in the first place? It was questions like those that ravaged him all the time about these weird sort of concepts. 

He soon emerges from the depths of the closet and eyes the android for his question. Yosuke must not know a great deal about the typical on-goings of humans. He could almost find the questioning tone of the other to be cute, but he decides to brush that thought aside. "I'll be at school most of today, well most everyday until Sunday. It lasts until the evening." Souji says to him as he shuffles about in a manner to get more appropriately dressed. Some kids like to spice up their school outfits but Souji is quite basic in his choices for 'spice' in his outfit.

School sounded rather....well, tedious. And not to mention time-consuming. Souji would be gone for so long! That would mean Yosuke wouldn't have anyone to cover him while he was hiding out in his room. Oh, well. Hopefully there wouldn't be anyone at home by the time it hit the afternoon or something; Yosuke really needed to get looking for some power tools or screwdrivers or something. Doing all this stuff by hand was getting pretty annoying. 

"Damn, you're there for a while! Kinda makes me wish I was there with you." he said with a laugh. "Well, I'll be hiding out in your closet until you get back, then." Not that he would take his risk heading out; first of all, he needed decent clothes that actually made him look normal. Second of all, society would eat him up, he wasn't ready to go out and be social. He was just lucky Souji was pretty cool about this kind of stuff.

Souji shoots the robot a worried glance, all day inside of his closet doesn't sound like the most appealing experience in the world. What else could he do though while he was away, Souji thinks but comes up with no alternative. "No one will be at the house for a while but Nanako might beat me back here, I don't know how close her school is from here but...I'll tell you when I get back." He says while fiddling with the hem of his jacket. "I'll see you later Yosuke." 

With that, Souji exits the bedroom and closes the door as gently as he can. As he enters the kitchen space he finds that as the girl had said, breakfast was indeed prepared. He asks her if she was the one to prepare the meal and Nanako promptly explains that she's able to make breakfast foods but for dinner she buys the food since her father cannot cook. Souji smiles at her resourceful nature, complementing her on her cooking skill for the meal was indeed quite tasty.  
From here the morning continues as Nanako directs Souji towards the high-school and notifies him of the location of her elementary school.

From the outside Yasogami high looked relatively nice, it was an aesthetically pleasing campus. Spending a year in this place shouldn't be to awful. This is what Souji thinks as he enters but the classroom experience proves to be unsavory.


	3. Partners

It starts out the same as it always has, the introduction to the classroom as if he is some foreign trophy. A large emphasis on the fact that he originated from the city. The other students eye him curiously at this and Souji swears he could hear a few kids whispering 'city-boy' under their breaths. This homeroom teacher was perhaps the most unpleasant he has ever encountered in his many school ventures. The man's voice was shrill and he shamelessly informed Souji that he shouldn't engage in any inappropriate activities with the girls of the class. The teacher's words almost make Souji never want to look at another female again. The words of the other implied that he believed teenagers were pea-brained sexballs. Insult after insult spewed from the man until Souji was finally allowed to take a seat. He let out a sigh of relief as the rant came to a close.  
A girl nearby, with short hair turned to look at him. Her eyes glimmer cheerfully as she introduces herself, Chie Satonaka. She didn't seem to bad, but Souji didn't choose to engage in further conversation with her. 

School comes to a close and Souji finds himself in a near rush to get home. He wonders what the android hiding in his closet has been up to this entire time. What did Yosuke even do in there for all these hours? He just wouldn't know until he arrived.

++++  
Yosuke returned the temporary goodbye with a wave and a slight smile. Once the other was outside the room, however, Yosuke let out a sigh, glancing around the room once more before he decided to sit on the sofa. Well, might as well start early with fixing himself up. Who knows what awaited him later in the day? No, actually-scratch that, he knew perfectly well what was waiting for him later in the day- nothing except for tightening screws and adjusting parts. He wished he could find some replacement parts for himself or something, but it was difficult to just find android parts lying around out of the blue; he learned that by experience. 

And so he worked. And worked. And worked. And then occasionally moved to sit in the closet to continue working. 

Eventually, he had fixed himself up to the point where his leg wasn't all wobbly, though maybe it was still slightly loose if he overworked it. His right elbow wasn't as creaky as it had been when he fixed the position of it, and he also had found an mp3 player to hook up to his headphones while doing all this.  
Of course, it wasn't possible for him to feel any sort of boredom, but he knew when he had been doing the same thing for a long time. He occasionally perked up to look at the clock, but eventually stopped after 1 PM. He had found himself just sitting in the closet for a long while, not even doing anything. Just..../sitting there/. Such was his first day, waiting for Souji to return.

++++  
The journey back from school was uneventful at best, though Souji was surprised at the amount of non-school goers simply wandering about the floodplain. He arrives at the Dojima house to find Nanako watching TV, her eyes glued to a trivia show as if she were hypnotized. Slipping past her was easy, she didn't even notice a movement until he was already up the stairs.

"Yosuke?" he whispers as he shuts the door to his room. He glances around, only to find the android in the closet. "There you are." He smiles at the other as he lays his bag on the work desk, taking a seat on his bed. A sigh escapes his lips and he lies back on the mattress. "You should be glad that you aren't in school...er...if you were or if you ever did go to this school. Hope that you don't get Mr. Morooka as you're homeroom teacher...he....was just." A groan follows his disjointed speech and he rubs his hands against his face, muffling the sound. "School can be pretty irksome at times." He says, removing his hands from his face as he recollects his previously jumbled statement. "What all did you even do while I was gone?" Souji then asks, peeping over at him.

When the door opened, he froze, but upon hearing Souji's voice he smiled and relaxed, not as tense as before. He stepped out from the closet as he saw the other lain out on his bed. He stood there, resting his hands behind his head at his neck, shifting his weight to one side. He chuckled upon hearing the other talk about school.   
"School sounds odd! I mean, it still sounds odd enough to be interesting, though. But I guess there are some people who would make school unpleasant." Not that Yosuke would mind; embarrassment was nonexistent for him, and so was irritation, so he would be perfectly fine, or he could act irritated or embarrassed if he wanted to. Not that he wanted to, though. When the other asked him about his day, however, he couldn't help but laugh. "Well, I worked on fixing myself up while waiting! I found a screwdriver, so that helped. My legs aren't as unstable as before, and I fixed up my elbow. Though, not that I'm perfectly stable now." he said as he crossed his arms with a grin. "I had half a mind to try on some of your clothes, but then I thought better, since you know, it's your clothes. Maybe I should go get my own." he said as he rubbed his neck awkwardly.

Souji nods his head as he listens to the other speak of his daily ongoings, his eyes wandering to the small analog clock by the bed. "Clothes..." He muses, pursing his lips in thought as he stares at the clock. "There's still a few hours before my uncle gets home...we could go explore Inaba. Maybe find you some things." Souji says this, taking note of Yosuke's tendency to rub his neck when he feels awkward.   
"That is, if you think you can make it out the window..." His voice trails off and he sits up. "Nanako is home so I don't think /both/ of us could sneak past her in the living room."   
The gears in Souji's mind spun like a highly functioning clock as he stood up and paced over to the window, pulling the curtain aside. Hitting the ground from this hight even if it wasn't a great distance would still probably undo Yosuke's work. There was a bit of roofing before the ground, but if the android were to go through with the window notion he would have to be careful not to miss that landing spot.

They could go...explore? If Yosuke could feel ecstatic, then he would be over-the-top joyful, because having someone to actually take him through the town and just /be with him/ was enough for the android to be content. He had never been deep inside any town, as he had tried to avoid those areas the best he could, considering that he himself didn't know how to react. Yosuke tended to walk around the outskirts before heading off beyond the town to who knows where. 

Now he was about to go explore with Souji, and he was more than ready. He glances out the window as well and thinks for a moment. "Well...I think I'd be fine. I did a lot of work on myself today, so I should be stable enough to not fall apart upon impact with the ground. Or,er...that little bit of roof, if I can get there. I'd really like to go with you!" he said with his signature cheeky grin, giving a thumbs up to Souji. "I mean, I'm ready whenever you are! Times a wastin', my friend!"

Souji offers Yosuke a toothy smile in return for his cheer and also in the sense of being called 'friend.' That wasn't something he came to Inaba to make, he had almost convinced himself on the train ride over to simply not interact with many people at all. Just look where that thought got him. Souji admits that he had accidentally stumbled upon this 'friendship', or whatever it was in this development. He cannot bring himself to cut it off, finding it quite fulfilling to be helpful and needed by someone else. 

Yosuke couldn't help feel like he had done something right to have Souji smile back at him like that, and he is only encouraged to make sure he doesn't screw anything up and break a part of his by a crappy landing somewhere other than the little platform of roof there for him to utilize to keep his body in one piece. It would be his first every friendship, or really, any kind of bond with someone else, and so he looked forward to it probably more than he should have. 

"Alright. I need to find my way around Inaba anyway so, cool." Souji says this in the least awkward way possible, trying to wipe the probably really dumb looking grin off his face before heading towards the door. "I'll go let Nanako know I'm going out, then I'll meet you outside. /Please/ be careful." With that he exits his room, padding down the stairs. Nanako shoots him a puzzled look in regards to his words, but doesn't object to him leaving. She mumbles about being home alone often, so he wouldn't need to fret over her being at the house by herself. He feels a bit sorry for her, having to spend so much time alone but says nothing in regards to it at the time. Making his way out of the house he peers around in search of the android, hoping that his escape is successful.

"I will, don't worry!" Careful was not a word in Yosuke's dictionary. However, he would do so to add it in (figuratively, of course) as soon as possible, now with Souji around to be with; having himself break down when he was alone wasn't as bad as it would be with someone else, because that meant spending less time with Souji and more time fixing himself up. Obviously that wasn't something that Yosuke seemed like he planned on doing, so this jump would be planned slightly before he actually went out the window, not the other way around.   
And so, looking out the window for a moment and spotting the roof ledge once more, he jumped out, landing on the roof before holding a hand out to balance himself as well as make sure he didn't slide down and take any shingles with him. Soon, he leaped off the roof, landing on the ground, soon straightening up as he kicked with his legs slightly, making sure that they were fine. Upon seeing Souji, he gives a proud thumbs up. "I'm fine, I made it! Now, let's go explore this place!"

Souji feels the urge to clap at the other's successful jump, no limbs collapsing and no broken robot-friends. This day was shaping up from the earlier unpleasant encounter with the homeroom teacher. He simply clasps his hands together, rubbing his palms together and grinning. At this rate Souji felt as if his face would go numb from the amount of smiling he's been doing in the past few minuets. It was unusual to be feeling so sprightly and expressive. At school and even at home he was quite notorious for being pretty stoic, some have even described him as cold. That was mainly just a front to avoid people over the years, since most do not enjoy his more vivacious nature.   
Yosuke didn't seem to mind though, which was nice. Maybe this person would be his /person/ the one depicted in books and television shows, the one that someone else opens up with. Nonetheless, that can be determined in time. 

Yosuke too was happy about his successful jump, as he was not left addled or broken because of it (or at least more broken than he already was). The android was more than happy to be with Souji, and didn't mind at all how the other acted. This was mostly because, well, he couldn't judge people, and why would he? Even if he did somehow get the ability to judge people, he didn't have the right to simply because if he looked at himself, he was far from perfect, and even farther than who he really wanted to be. In a way, Yosuke could understand. 

"Okay, so...based on what I've gathered at school. There is supposed to be a shopping district out past the school. I know how to get to the school from the floodplains so I think we can figure it out from there." He says, stepping out of the entranceway and onto the street, heading off in the direction of the floodplain he had just mentioned.  
Immediately, Yosuke followed in the direction mentioned, eager to see the world for himself. Or at least, the mini-world that Inaba would represent for the android. Then, of course, the thought of money arose in his mind. Though, would Souji pay for it? Yosuke had to find some way to get money too.

If only Yosuke had a GPS or something, Souji thinks with a slight giggle. Having a robot for a friend was going to prove quite an experience, but he decides it would be best not to ask questions such as that. It might be very rude. 

If Yosuke had a GPS, then that would have made his endless walk all he more difficult to embark on. Life was supposed to be unexpected, like an adventure. But if he already knew what was ahead or what was in store, then he would have been less willing to keep walking forward, considering that with a map or directions, he would have been more inclined to take more turns rather than just his straight, continuous path. 

Souji thinks for a moment that he is basically winging it, in regards to locating the Inaba Shopping District. He only really knew the general location based off of the chatter of various students. Narrowing his eyes, he continues to walk along the street-face. This district of town was supposedly on the opposite side from the school, meaning that it was on the same side of town as the Dojima's residence.   
"I think it's up this way." Souji says, breaking the silence brought on by his thoughts. He looks back at Yosuke for a moment, before looking back ahead. They've been walking for a considerable amount of time, and eventually come up on the gas station. Moel, Souji recalls the bizarre handshake with a female attendant there but decides to brush way the memory quickly. "Oh, well....what'dya know this is it. The beginning of it at least." Souji says, gesturing on ahead at the line of stores and such about the area. "I heard on TV that there is a department store called Junes here. It's notable enough to have it's own commercial, so we could head there at some point."

The line of stores seemed welcoming at the same time they were menacing. Yosuke didn't know how to react at this point, smiling like he always did, eager to see what there was waiting for him. What store they went to at this point the android could care less, really. As they walked, something brushed up in his mind and he decided to start up a conversation. "Hey, so...you mentioned you were new here? I mean, so am I, but I was just wondering what made you move out here." he asked as he glanced over at the other. Was there always a particular reason humans moved to settle elsewhere? Or was it just for fun?

Souji's expression darkens at the topic of moving for it has never truly sat well with him. A sigh escapes him and he cuts his eyes at Yosuke to respond, "My family has very...demanding jobs. Therefore it requires us to move around a lot in order to keep up with their business. Currently they're overseas, which is why I am here in Inaba. They didn't want to lug me around so they dropped me out here with another relative. I'll be gone by the end of the year...so it's no big deal." Souji says this but feels as if this type of thing was always a bigger deal than he lets on. To put it bluntly, it sucks. Being uprooted from a 'home' over and over again throughout his childhood as made him quite unhappy overtime. Most likely because he's never been able to keep the fair few friends he makes in his time in new towns. Souji frowns, feeling as if the constant move is similar to reopening old wounds. "So yeah." Souji says awkwardly, wanting not to dwell on these type of thoughts until it was necessary. Maybe eve putting it off until the last days here in this rural town.

Upon seeing the other's expression alter as if the gravity of the topic recently breached was one of no light-hearted tone, Yosuke couldn't help but think that perhaps he shouldn't have asked. It was a legitimate question with a good justification for it, so Yosuke couldn't have helped but ask. And look what he had done. He wanted to apologize, but then he felt that might have been slightly awkward, maybe he was just overthinking this shift in emotion...Yeah, maybe this wasn't so bad...   
Just kidding, the way Souji talked about it made Yosuke think even more that he had asked the wrong question. Dammit. He listened thoughtfully, though, was it bad to already feel that he didn't want Souji to go after a year? He had just met the other, yet the thought of the other leaving was somewhat...unnatural to Yosuke, leaving him with odd thoughts. A year was so...ephemeral to an android like him; the time would whiz by him in a flash and he would have been left wondering where his time with his new friend had gone. 

In hopes to clear his mind he scans the streets, eyeing a telephone pole with countless papers stapled into it. Lots of job offers, by the looks of it. He squints in an attempt to read the small print. Envelop folding and Translating are of the few on the board that do not require legitimate human interaction in order to get payed, Souji smiles at this and pulls off the tiny strips of contact information for later use.   
"I'll have to get one of these at some point..." He mumbles to himself after pocketing the strips of paper. His family allotted him his 'starter' money whenever he was located away from them. This money would last for a good while, but eventually he would have to take up a part-time job in order to not go entirely broke. Asking for money from others was something Souji strongly disliked, so this was the best option.   
His gaze wanders next to the furthermost section of the street, of all things to be located in a small town shopping area, there was a metal works place. Legitimate blacksmithing, right in the middle of town. How odd.

At the switch of topic to the other taking a slip of paper for a job, Yosuke had to think for a moment. Maybe he could get a job too? Yeah, a simple one! That way he could at least not be so much of a burden on Souji. Money was always hard to come across.   
Upon catching his gaze on the metal work shop, he too was a bit piqued as to why that was there. That was a little anachronistic, wasn't it? Then again, Yosuke technically was himself-- never mind, onto different thoughts. "So where do you wanna check out? What's a good place to start?"

"I really want to locate that department store. Then we can come back through here on our way back to the house." Souji says this, speaking slowly because he's reading a sign at the same time. A strange little medicine store was having a sale on something called a 'revival bead', he knits his brows at this in confusion. What the hell is a revival bead?   
Souji shakes his head and continued to walk down the strip. Eventually the locale in question comes into view.   
Junes appeared to be a two story department store, the largest shopping outlet seen thus far in Inaba. Souji tilts his head to take in more of the external view of this place. No wonder Junes has its own commercial, it's the only store of legitimate size and worth in this town it seems. Lots of people seemed to be buzzing about inside and out, so it must be pretty popular. Souji looks back at Yosuke and gestures for him to follow him inside.

He gave a nod of affirmation in response to the other's request, shifting his gaze to the curious sign as well. Medicine? Hm. Yosuke had never consciously realized there was a need for humans to have medicine. Then again, it was a pretty obvious fact. Not that Yosuke ever needed medicine anyways.   
Upon seeing the store, it was probably understandable as to its popularity. It was probably the center of the small town anyways. Or at least, the center of entertainment. In response to the gesture, he followed the other inside.   
Once inside, Yosuke gazed around, not so much in awe as he was eager to look around. "Dude, I'd probably get lost in this place! Who knew such a small town had a place like this?"

Souji is less eager than the other but smiles nonetheless. It was a fairly decent department store for an area like this, filled with a large selection of wares. Since he was used to living in the city things like this weren't as uncommon, in fact there are lots of places similar to this out in the city. There appears to be only one like this out in Inaba, based on what they've seen of the shopping district. Junes has a nice charm to it due to it's singularity. He eyes his android friend, scanning his appearance to take in the pleasant enthusiasm radiating off of him. "I guess in your travels you never went into places like this?" He states in a questioning tone, walking down the electronics isle. 

This place had an impressive amount of TVs, /huge/ TVs. Souji's eyes light up as he looks into the screen of what appears to be a seventy inch television. Not that he watches much TV but having something like this in a house would just be pure awesome. He recalls the tiny set in his room, very old as it was miniature. The little thing might barely be over fourteen inches. He places a hand on the corner of the screen, gazing at the price before scoffing. "Nope." He says, backing away from the TV after reading the price label.

Yosuke, who had never seen the inside of a hustle-bustle city, let alone a small town like this (as he had only wandered around the outskirts, never deep inside such communities), was rather thoughtful to take in his surroundings, fill in the gaps of thought and imagination that he had never been able to fill because of this lack of information. Upon the question, he shook his head. "Never, this is truly a first for me! I never went into towns anyways, so this is all pretty new and weird! But you know, weird in a good way!" 

Souji nods his head, taking in the others words in regards to having been inside a town. This experience really did mean much more to Yosuke, if his words hold truth. Souji can hardly imagine wandering around for such a great length of time and having never truly interacted with the environment aside form onlooking. "Well, I'm glad you get the opportunity to explore now." he says with a small crease of his lips.   
Junes was quite an eclectic little department store, Souji thinks as he peers around the various isles. Everything from consumables to clothes was in this place. In all his travels here and about Japan with his family, he has seen places like this. It isn't uncommon in areas less rural. Judging by the look of this place and the general atmosphere he can figure that this store must mean a lot to the community. It's not a bad place either, the wares are vast and the jingle is admittedly pretty catchy. Almost catchy to the point of being one of those tunes trapped in one's head forever. Souji shivers at the thought of an infinite Junes theme. 

The TVs posed no interest in Yosuke, as he would have no use of such things anyways. Though, there was an /odd/ feeling emanating from them. Just a feeling, not something he was so sure of. Though, seeing as it was just a faint thought, he brushed it off and continued to look around. Not that he was looking to buy anything but decent clothes, really. This place seemed like it had everything, though! Man, who knew such a small place like that could have something like /this/.   
Soon, he came across the clothes in the store and took a look around, trying to look at what would be decent enough. Not that he was looking for anything expensive, but at least he'd have to look like he had some style. He saw an orange, long sleeved shirt and took interest to it, as well as a pair of long, brown jeans (not the skinny kind, but not the baggy kind either; skinny jeans would probably limit all his movement). Perhaps he'd get the jacket later; he didn't want to use Souji's money so much. Maybe he'd get his own? Somehow, he'd find a way eventually.

He follows Yosuke over to where he is examining the clothes. Orange, that's a pretty vibrant color. Souji takes note that most people are a lot more colorful in attire than he is. Everything he wears is basically black, white, or grey. Monochrome. Souji's always been like this, allowing others to be more notable hued than himself. "Don't worry to much about the cost of things...nothing in here appears to be too unreasonably priced. But I don't mind either way."

Yosuke would have felt more than glad, but that was rather unlikely to happen at the moment. Though, he surely /did/ look more than glad, that was certain. This wasn't anything like he imagined, but in a good way. He didn't even imagine he himself would be doing something like this. Then again, there was always a chance for everything, right? Well, his android self was telling him not everything, but he could dream.   
Junes seemed to be composed of many different things, some of which didn't even like they would seem like they would be in a store. They even had groceries they were selling. Damn. If Yosuke needed anything, then he knew the right place to come to; he'd find probably anything he would need here. Maybe even some tools or screws or something of the sort.   
Orange was a nice color in his eyes, probably his favorite. Or at least, he tried to keep it his favorite. His programmed mind would often try to keep everything balanced, but Yosuke did try his hardest to keep in mind that orange was his favorite color and that was it about colors. He thought for a moment, then sighed, grabbing the white jacket and chuckling. "I'll find some way to pay you back, Souji, trust me!" he said with a grin and thumbs up. He'd have to do some searching for something reliable.

"Now we must scale the Junes labyrinth for the registers." Souji declares with a cheerful expression about his features. Back to wandering the isles it seems. If only Junes were one of those stores that had the hanging signs over certain areas, it would be a bit easier to navigate if that were the case. Unfortunately it is not, which leads the two to have to scour the store in search of the cash registers. After some pacing through what appeared to be a toy isle (accompanied by the squeals of young children) Souji spotted the desired location. At some point he'll need something from this place, just not today. Oh wait, gum. He decides to purchase a single packet of gum. It was nothing extraordinary in the span of chewing gum. Strawberry flavored with a small cat on the front as the logo to the brand. Souji thinks as the line grows smaller, that he's never really spent money on other people before. He hasn't made close enough friends with anyone in his travels to get presents for them. He knits his brows and wonders if he can find one of those 'close' friends within the android. The terms of their current friendship were a bit unconventional in comparison to most other relations. The "hey I found your leg outside my house and now I'm hiding you in my closet" deal wasn't something most friendships were built off of.

Now that he realized it, he didn't see the cash registers on his way in, and they now had to go and search for them through the maze of isles. He had seen cash registers occasionally, maybe broken ones dumped down somewhere, and so he could determine their use rather quickly, though seeing one actually in function was something rather new as well. That and the fact that they would actually be /buying/ things. That was always a concept that was odd. Was it like equal exchange? Or maybe like just giving sheets of paper and coins that seemed like they were valuable but actually weren't? Man, this was some weird stuff. 

In exiting the department store Souji sees that of all things there is a food court in this place. "Wow, a food court? This place has literally /everything/." He says with a a chuckle, looking towards said food court. 

After they had bought their items (and Yosuke had tried not to stare at the cash register), they exited and he gazed around at the food court. What was a food court? Well, if it was what it sounded like, then it was probably just a place to eat food? Not that he'd really know much about it or really care, though. He didn't even need to eat, so this would probably just be a place for him to idle and stand about. 

In heading back towards the house Souji comes to a stop at the small bookstore at the end of the shopping district. He examines the sign, advertising a book about being a man. 'A Great Man' Volume one. There appears to be only one copy left and as Souji flips through the pages he is amazed as to /why/ so many of these books would have been sold. "Oh my god. This book..." His voice trails off into laugher as he scans over the beginning of each chapter. "Every chapter starts with..." He pauses and deepens his voice for the sake of comedy, " 'A real man always...' " As he completes the statement he goes back to snickering. "I'm going to purchase this just for irony."

At the book store, Yosuke had flipped through some books just for fun, reading a couple lines before he put the book he had been holding down, hearing Souji laugh and mock the book he was planning to buy for ironic purposes. Yosuke laughed along with the other at the book, grinning. Maybe he'd read it sometime when he had nothing else to do. Hell, he could even take some advice from it, because at the moment, he was ready to get any advice he could from anyone; being as human as possible was his goal and no one was going to stop him from that.

Souji cannot wipe the grin from his features even as he purchases the utterly ridiculous book. Even worse, there was a series that accompanied this utter bullshit. Perhaps some individuals get a kick out of reading about the 'divine presence of all men.' Souji eagerly awaits the time that he can start delving into this book's dramatic perception of manhood. That thought in of itself sounds silly, which causes him to chuckle under his breath.

The book didn't seem like it would be all too serious, or maybe it was serious but no one really saw how much bullshit it actually was. Or maybe everyone was just like Souji and bought just for the sake of making fun of it while reading. Either way, Yosuke would probably find himself skimming through the book (or maybe doing a little more than skimming). The android who wanted to know more would definitely be prone to doing so no matter how badly the book may have been written. 

"Well, seems like that is most of the shopping district since we can't purchase liquor, weapons, or strange beads from that medicine shop." Souji concludes as he steps out of the book store and into the streets again. This area must not get loads of business seeing that Junes would absorb most shoppers. The department store seemed to be the powerhouse of spending in Inaba. 

"Weapons? They sell weapons here?" he inquired incredulously. Not that he had any need for weapons, his time of fighting was long from over (not that he knew what the future held in store for him, however). The area definitely wasn't as teeming with life like Junes was, but that had an obvious reason for that. Besides, it made walking much easier and more comfortable; no one was there to bump into you or stare at you that way. 

"Another thought. How are we getting you back in? My uncle is most likely back home by now." He checks his watch, "Yeah, unless he's working late he'll be at the house. I don't think you can climb /up/ to my room." Souji knits his brow in concern, biting his lip.

"Hm? I don't know about you, but I think I'm perfectly capable of climbing back up!" Then again, he still was a bit clumsy, he could end up slipping and doing something incredibly stupid. Though, it was worth a shot, because Yosuke had already bluffed it out. Plus, there was really no other way, to be honest.

Souji grimaces at his personal visualization of the android's wobbly attempt to climb up the side of the house. "Alright." He says slowly, "But I'll inform you that my uncle is a police officer and if he finds you out there I /cannot/ claim to know you." An image of poor Yosuke tumbling off the roof and into a bush only to be arrested for trespassing came over Souji and he shivers, he can't loose the first friend he's made in this town. He had never planned on making friends this time around, seeing that they never seem to last. Souji was a sucker for interaction however, so he hated being alone. Which always ends up coming back at him once he has to leave an area. Souji takes a deep breath. He didn't want to think about this anymore.

The walk back to the Dojima household is rather quiet, seeing that Souji has been trapped in this thoughts since the bookstore. Primarily it was morbid things on his mind alongside various other obscure topics. Clearing his head of these thoughts proved aimless since the thoughts only came rushing back as soon as he chased them off.   
He stops at the door, speaking up for the first time in quite a while. "Best of luck with climbing the house. I'll see you up there. Hopefully." he states curtly, shuffling into the house soon after.   
Lo and behold, Dojima is not there. Souji peers about the space in search of his uncle, only to find Nanako at the television set. She turns to face him after reading the last line of a trivia question on featured on the show she was watching. "Welcome back." She chirps. "Dad has to work late..." Her voice grows quite solemn at the worn out statement, her shoulders slump to further dramatize her discontent. Souji frowns at this but can't find the words to comfort her. Nanako's eyes scan him and his wares. "Where have you been today?" She asks, doing her best to strike up a conversation. "I went to go see the shopping district. I'll have to learn my way around Inaba at some point." He responds and Nanako brightens up at his words. "Did you go to Junes?!" She squeaks in excitement, placing her hands on her lap and grinning. "Yeah, I did." She bounces up and down in her seat. "I love Junes. It's so much fun there." Nanako decides not to say that she wishes she could have gone, settling for just stating her love of the store. The conversation dwindles past that, and Souji makes his way back up stairs in the hopes that Yosuke made it up safely.

\---  
After another moment of dubious staring, he eventually took another step back, then got a couple steps worth a running start before leaping up and grabbing onto the ledge of the roof, pulling himself up onto the shingled roof with a sigh of relief. "At least that was take care of..." he mumbled to himself before glancing at the window that was just out of reach. At least that wouldn't be too hard.   
Soon, he jumped up, grabbing onto the small ledge for his hands before hanging there, then pulling himself up and stumbling into the room. Nevertheless, he still made it there as safely as he could have. That was one struggle out of the way for the day. He stood up straight, testing out the joints at his arms once more to make sure they were fine before leaning against the wall, running his fingers through his hair.

Souji opens the door to his room slowly, peeping his head in to glance around expectantly. To his surprise and delight, his friend had made it up the house safely. "Congratulations." He chirps, placing the bags on the work desk at the center of the room. "For your great climb, I have a reward." His grin doesn't fade, even as he goes to rummage through one of the few suitcases he brought to Inaba.   
He had never been one to keep trinkets from his travels, but occasionally he ends up with the random miscellaneous item. Things such as a cluster of stickers from grade school happens to be one of these rare objects he's collected over time. He brought them along on this venture for the sake of decorating his boring phone, but now he has found a rather silly but good use of them. Souji tugs out a sheet of star shaped stickers from the depths of his belongings. He grins wolfishly at Yosuke before peeling away a single gold star.   
"A prize for your efforts, Mr. Hanamura. You done good." He presses the sticker to the other's cheek with a soft giggle. This scene would be remnant of a young child being rewarded for some good deed in class. Climbing up a house successfully and unseen, in Souji's mind classified as a good deed. An achievement. He laughs at his own silliness, taking a set at the bench near the desk.

Congratulations? Well, it definitely was an accomplishment, though. With his slipshod condition and the fact that he could have slipped and fallen at any time with his clumsiness, it certainly did deserve somewhat of a congratulatory motion. Though, Souji was going to give him something? Yosuke was very close to politely refusing for the sake of courtesy before he had seen what he was receiving.   
He laughed when the other had pressed the sticker to his cheek, not even bothering to peel it off to glance at it and put it back on; nope, he kept it there in its golden, shiny glory on his pale face. "I'm honored, then." he said jokingly, giving another chuckle before he kept his stupid grin plastered on his face as well. Though, he felt jealous. Yosuke couldn't feel that silly happiness or amusement that Souji was probably feeling at the moment, and he could say that he hated it. But even then, he couldn't have that disgusting feeling either. He wanted to know what it was like to feel like that, to actually smile genuinely like Souji was. Oh, well. He could dream, and always pretend. Someday, maybe. But who knew when that someday would come? Certainly he didn't, as he could just wait. Nevertheless, he kept his smile on his face, grateful to have Souji there with him, even if he HAS only known him for about a day. "Maybe I should carry around a ladder with me so I don't have to pray I don't slip every time I leave the house." he said with a chuckle. "Or maybe I just need to practice."

With a nod of his head Souji dismisses the utter puerility of the situation. He listens to the star spangled android as he mentions carrying around a latter. That was also pretty silly, to have one around all the time. It was also ridiculous to think about having to commit to house climbing practice. All in all, everything in regards to his new friend was odd. He had so many questions, but didn't know where to begin. Souji figures that even with time some things will never be revealed about Yosuke. He hums in thought, glancing over the small stack of paperwork in regards to his school transfer. "If you don't mind me asking, where did you come from?" He speaks without looking away from the papers. Whether it was out of nervousness or some other feeling he did not know. 

To learn about people is to seek more from them. To ask about their whereabouts, and delve into their character. Social links. The term crosses his mind as he recalls the perplexing conversations he's had in his dreams lately. Whoever the two people in the blue room where, they seemed pretty concerned as to whether or not he will interact with people. Why on earth figments of his dreams would care about such matters of his life was beyond him. Yosuke seemed like a good start at least, since he hasn't really connected with anyone else in Inaba yet. That is aside from Nanako and his uncle. Dojima had given off an aura of unapproachableness but the young girl seemed pretty easy to talk to. It's going to take time, he thinks, for Souji's only been there a whole day.

Yosuke soon sat on the floor, legs crossed in his lap as he glanced at the screws at his knees, hoping they were still alright and not jacked up like they always were. Then, he heard Souji's question and looked back up at the other, then turned his gaze away despite the fact that Souji wasn't even looking at him. His origins were what he had been escaping from all this time, trying to run from them. Yet, he couldn't blame a guy for being curious and wanting to know; friends knew these kinds of things about each other, right? Then there wouldn't be any problem telling him. Well, there would be no problem for Souji. But...for Yosuke? It brought back memories that he had been trying to forget and throw away all this time.   
"I...come from a hella far place, a good ways off." he said with a forced grin- who was he kidding? All of his smiles were forced-, though one seeming of a sort of unease to the memories of past. "It was...a lab. Right smack in the middle of nowhere. I try my best to forget, I mean, I'm already all the way here, might as well just let it slip away, right?" Yosuke had been walking for years, he was more than just far at this point. Yet, the grasp of the Kirijo group always felt close, nagging him, reaching for him as he continuously tried to dodge their grabs, trying to let all those years of walking eventually just leave those memories behind.

Souji grows tense at the content of the other's words. He takes note of Yosuke's effort to discard the happenings of his past. Whatever he was built for, whatever purpose must have not been something he agreed with. Maybe? Souji didn't know this and decided not to ask any more questions. Some people, some existences in this vast world cast aside the events of time passed in order to pursue a better future. In all reality, the past shapes the present which leads to the great beyond. The events that his newfound friend wanted to be rid of would never go away, but that was a concept for everyone.   
"Everything you are, everything you were, everything you've been...is not everything you'll be." Souji says in a near monotone. From time to time he falls into the depths of his thoughts. This is the space where universal questions lie, the unanswerable kind. "I hope that...in all your endeavors, the world finds you well. Wherever you came from...isn't where you are now." He grows silent after this and he slumps over in his seat. Resting his head against the desk he lets a sigh slip past his lips. "I don't remember where I was born. Not even the name. My family has been moving around since before I was even here...so I don't have a very concrete past."

 

When he heard Souji speak, it was if he could feel the tense atmosphere emanate from his voice, and the android looked up at the other once more, smile absent, expression now one of contemplation and understanding. Of course, that was what Yosuke was trying to pursue this whole time; the android was trying to be someone different, someone who wasn't limited to their past. Yet, he found it as a hinderance, not only because it was part of his nature, but because it was the truth. It was the truth and he wanted to hate it, but instead, he couldn't hate it because of his inability to, and could only run away from it. 

He listened to the other, and soon got up from his sitting position, going over to Souji where he sat at the desk and put on a smile for the other, holding out a hand for the other to take, as if it were another firm shake, a firm reassurance of their established friendship. "I guess we're on the same boat, then? No, sorry, that's the wrong phrase to use. We're on the same ocean, sailing right next to each other, I can see. But I'm here for you, and you're here for me, yeah? Let's shake on it, Partner." he requested with an amiable grin.

Partner. That term had a nice ring to it and Souji allows a small smile to crease his lips. He reaches out to take the hand offered to him, curling his fingers around it in a handshake. "It's a deal, partner." He says softly with a nod of his head. Sailing along the same ocean, side by side. Such a nice way to phrase the current situation of their lives. Souji has made a good friend in Yosuke, he feels this deep in the pit of his being. He would look after his friend, and they would look after him. If he makes no other relations with anyone else in Inaba, Souji is glad to have found Yosuke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've semi-returned from the grave, lots of family turmoil in the form of death.  
> But! I am getting back into the swing of writing again so I was able to finally update!!!
> 
> A pretty mundane chapter, but i'm back in the swing of things


	4. 04

The days to pass are ordinary and calm, not that there would be any reason for any bizarre happenings in Inaba. It was a quiet town with little going on, so this was standard.  
School buzzed with the typical humdrum of activity as clubs rolled back around into the scheduled lives of the students. Sports clubs happened to be the first of the few to enter their lives. The options weren't that great seeing that there were literally only two options presented when Souji had asked the faculty office. Soccer and basketball. Two sports that Souji has never really touched base with, ever. He squints at the gym doors before entering, wondering if it is really the best idea for him to become athletic. Sports have never truly been a passion of Souji's seeing that it required not only social skills but physical ability as well. Perhaps if he tries to make well with the schools athletic's program the weird velvet people in his dreams will stop screaming to him about 'social links'.  
The basketball team was pitiful at best with a slim four members, but the captain seemed to be in high spirits despite this. The other members proved to be the opposite, much to the misfortune of their captain. Kou Ichijo, was the name of the basketball team's leader. He cheerfully asks Souji whether or not he's ever played basketball before and Souji lies by saying he has a /little/ experience. Watching it on TV from time to time will hopefully serve him well. Saying something like this is mainly to put up a good face, plus, it is quite effective. Kou beams at him and urges him to join the team due to the utterly pathetic number of remaining members. Alongside meeting Kou, Souji also encounters the soccer captain named Daisuke Nagase. The other seemed much more reserved than the cheerful and energetic Kou, but the two appeared to be good friends.  
The rest of that day consisted of helping out the athletic crew in cleaning, seeing that the other members of the basketball team were lousy people just as they were players. 

The days that went by were relatively normal, Yosuke even getting a job at Junes while Souji was off doing his thing at school. Yeah, maybe that roof-climbing practice was pretty frequent now that he actually had work. The pay wasn't all too much, but it would help Souji out at least, and he could pay him back for that outfit he had bought for him. It could also at least let him by a couple more clothes so that he wasn't stuck wearing the same thing all the time.  
Souji, at the closure of the day relays these events back to Yosuke who had apparently in this time landed himself a job at Junes. Souji was happy for him, seeing that Yosuke wanted to feel more normal, having a job would be beneficial to his cause. Inspired by the other's efforts to work, Souji starts to make those envelopes. After about the eightieth envelop folded, he concludes that there is no job more mind-numbingly meticulous as this. He feels as if he will grow to be more diligent if he presses onwards into the seemingly infinite amount of envelopes that needed to be made. 

As more days flickered past, Souji brought up the concept of Yosuke coming to school. It would be pretty pressing, but a good way to gain a better understanding of people and their ongoings.

Now that he was also attending school with Souji, maybe that need for variety in terms of his clothes wasn't needed all too much, considering that he wore a uniform anyways. And at least he had tennis shoes for himself, that was nice. No one even suspected a thing; Yosuke looked pretty human, even in his own perspective, especially with all that clothes covering him up. No loose bolts or questionable elbow joints to see there. 

Though, school was better than he expected. True, maybe that Morooka was a pain in the ass, thinking that all teens were sex and hormone-addled idiots (perhaps he could see where that thought process was coming from, though), and if Yosuke had the capability to hate him, then he would probably abhor him with all the energy he could, or maybe just enjoy playing around with him. After all, Yosuke had already established his title as class clown, and the attention was amazing. However, he had also come to discover that perhaps Chie didn't exactly like him too much, and they weren't exactly rubbing well together (more like chafing uncomfortably every time they looked at each other). And Chie was the one to punch and kick him often, and he was quite a good actor, he had to say, pretending to be hurt, as it probably would have hurt to have been kicked in the gut or punched in the arm, and if he could feel and really was human, he'd say that he would have been incapable of having children by that point by her physical inflictions- more or less physical Yosuke abuse, because everyday seemed like a "let's hit Yosuke" day. Though, even if he didn't get hurt by those impacts, his body did flash to his mind those constant damage sustained warnings, which he had to keep watch for, otherwise he could end up breaking down right in the middle of a school day. Not exactly a good thing to do, he quickly decided.

Once the idea is made a reality, Souji is surprised at how seamlessly Yosuke is able to integrate himself into the school setting. He's got a knack for making things work it seems. Souji at school is much different than how he is at home, which is a bit off-putting. He rarely speaks unless spoken to, and is constantly changing his personality to please those who do pursue conversations with him. It mainly goes to prove that Souji is quite observant, seeing that he is able to tell people what they want to hear even without knowing them all to well. Souji in all his school endeavors, observing the motions of his android friend, hopes that he is able to be a successful social operator. He has hope for Yosuke. 

The next club to roll around is an arts club, or really some form of art that isn't actually an 'art' club because apparently that club isn't available. Neither is any of the sciences or calligraphy. This news was a downer at best but Souji continues onward. He had a difficult time locating the drama room and after hearing the shrill cries of someone trying /very/ hard to sing, he heads out towards the band room. In this club setting he finds himself discovering some unknown musical talent hidden within himself. A small freshmen named Ayane Matsunaga was the next person for Souji to truly interact with. Her small stature gave way to her timid nature as she fluttered about the room in a fit of nerves. She handled most of the paperwork fort the band and had little musical ability despite her passion for it. Souji feels...sorry for her in a way. Seeing how much effort she has put into her work, but only to find it fruitless. He feels as if in time he would want to help her hone in her abilities for the trombone. Such an odd instrument for someone her size, but anything can be made possible in the wake of practice.

After a while, he was walking in the hallways idly with Souji, as eager as always. Yosuke seemed mostly bounding with energy, and when he wasn't, it was a clear sign that something was up. Of course, at the moment, he was just normal, and interested in what Souji's endeavors had brought him to. "So! How's it going, Partner? Did you find out what clubs you wanted to be in?" he asked, hands in his pockets, the android seeming relaxed, and definitely content to be talking with his good friend.

Clubs, time to talk about clubs. Souji hums softly in response to Yosuke's words having to collect his thoughts on the events pertaining to clubs before speaking. "Well. This school literally only has two athletic's clubs. Both of which I have no experience in and both that are in desperate need of members. I have some...'god-sent'-" Souji raises his hands for air quotes "talent for basketball. Not that it will do much since theres only five people on the team." Souji does his best to explain the convoluted events of sports clubs, not quite wanting to go into detail about the hours he has spent shinning balls and observing the odd social dynamic between Kou and Daisuke. Souji doesn't talk much at school, finding himself to be quite notorious for the one to two word sentences that get him through each day. Only when speaking to Yosuke does he breech the system of laconic speech. "As for arts...I joined the symphonic band, discovered my hidden talent for playing the trumpet. Oh, and met first-year named Ayane who has about as much confidence as an abused animal." He concludes his telling of his club endeavors with a small frown, thinking of how stressful it is going to be having to keep up with the needs and preferences of all these people.

Godsent? Souji wasn't THAT good at basketball, was he? The android continued to listen and inferred that perhaps the team wasn't all too good, and Souji would at least help bring it up. Like aforementioned, if he ever tried his hand at basketball, he'd probably fall apart on the spot or something; it was a sport that required too much moving and he couldn't risk that at school where everyone could see him. That was some /unwanted/ attention he tried to avoid.  
"Trumpet? That's pretty cool, I should listen to you jam out some time soon, then!" he said with a grin, though upon hearing that extra bit of information, he let a frown graze upon his expression as well, the android taking his hands out from his pockets, crossing his arms with a sigh. "Well, that doesn't sound good at all. But, you're there for her, right? Maybe a first-year kinda needs that push." he said in thought, though not exactly sure he was saying the right things either, as this wasn't exactly his forte, he would have to admit. But it was the least he could say about this situation, really. And Souji was willing to tell him about his day, so that was nice.

Ayane just needs to build up her self-confidence, he thinks. Even if she's lacking in talent currently, growth comes with practice and passion. She was very passionate about being a musician, now she only needs to work for it without being stopped by her fears. "In time, I think she'll grow. I'll have to practice with her some time." He says, thinking that maybe he could be there to help her like Yosuke had said. "How's your school days been? Discover anything? I know the girl who sits in front of me really likes to beat you up." He chuckles under his breath at the thought of the short-haired girl kicking the crap out of him all the time. They didn't hit it off to well and he wonders why, though he's rarely spoken to her. Perhaps he'll look into this later. "Her name's Chie, right?"

"Well... I've discovered that I'm a really good actor? Yeah," He rubbed his hand at the back of his neck once more- a habit that occurred frequently- as he gave a slightly awkward smile. "she likes to beat the shit out of me, and I don't even know why. Every time I say something, she finds the obligation to try and hurt me. It doesn't really hurt, because, you know, I can't really feel it, but I gotta pretend, right? Otherwise it'd look weird, a scrawny guy like me taking all those hits like that. I'd probably say that if I were human, I wouldn't have kids anymore because of her." Then, he recalled something, now putting his hand on his forehead. "Ah, dammit...I have her Trial of the Dragon CD...Crap, and I cracked it too.... Well, hopefully she won't take it too badly..." Yeah, right. 

`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`

"Chie." A girl with flowing ebony hair calls out, pacing across the school roof to the one she had tried to alert. Chie was always up her in her time away from class, even after school she'd come up here and stay for a while. Yukiko had never thought to ask her why, seeing that it wasn't a question that really /needed/ an answer. Perhaps she enjoyed looking out over Inaba from here, the view was great. "Chie." She says again in a much softer voice as she grows closer.  
Up on the roof, Chie stood with her side against the wire fence, looking out down over Inaba. Maybe there was some sort nostalgia behind it, or perhaps she was just very tired. Either way, it was relaxing to just be up there alone to enjoy the quiet, and perhaps enjoy the solitude for just a bit. Then, she heard a familiar voice call out her name, Chie turning around to meet Yukiko with a smile. 

Yukiko folds her hands behind her back, feeling as the wind brushed against her face and rustled her hair. She is thankful for her headband, for without it her hair would be all over her face in breezy moments like this. Her ochre eyes cut to her friend as she stands about the school's roof. Relishing in the moments even without conversation. Yukiko found herself to be very busy having to take up her apprenticeship as the inn manager, a position she didn't want but wouldn't complain about. She seldom had time for moments like this anymore and she wishes that she did, spending time with Chie was some of the best moments Yukiko gets to experience.  
"Have you asked the new boys about that midnight TV thing everyone is so hyped about?" She asks, deciding to engage in conversation. "You seemed pretty eager to tell others about it when you heard and I was wondering if you asked either of them. You...You know I'm not that great of a conversationalist or I would have asked them myself." Yukiko continues shyly at the end, never having felt very comfortable talking to boys. Chie was always so brave and a good talker too, with anyone. Everything she did seemed pretty easy and when it wasn't she would work for it until it was. That was an admirable quality Chie had, one that Yukiko yearns to mimic.

She happily walked over to the other, grinning. "Ah, that? I totally forgot about it! Come on, Yukiko, we'll tell them together!" she said with a giggle. "Don't worry, I'll be there for you! Nothing's gonna get in the way between us! Let's go!" she said eagerly, taking hold of her hand and eagerly running down the steps and back into the school building, back down to class.

Yukiko lets out a chirp of surprise, feeling her body being dragged away by her friend. So much for having Chie ask them, looks like they'll be doing this as a team. It wasn't a big deal, she tells herself. After this /tiny/ conversation she'll never speak to these boys again. Plain and simple.

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Recalling the recurring instances in which Chie has laid the beat down on his friend, he concludes that if Yosuke were human he really would be permanently damaged in some way or another. Souji chuckles under his breath as Yosuke continues to explain his new-found acting career. His mind is momentarily drawn to the concept of pretending. What portion of Yosuke's actions were genuine? Which ones were just him 'acting.' He could be faking everything, Souji thinks. If that's the case, Yosuke is very talented in playing off the things he can't truly express. He decides not to harp over it, and lets the thoughts slip away.  
"You're screwed." He says in regards to broken CD. "Maybe when she beats you up this time she'll hit hard enough to actually hurt you." Chie must really be into the whole kung-fu and martial arts style of fighting, judging by the way she goes about attacking Yosuke.  
"Why'd you even borrow that CD in the first place?" He then asks, tilting his head in question.

This act of his could have been genuine in some ways. With this feeling of happiness he acted and faked it, and with the feeling of physical pain it was just the same. Yet, the feeling of friendship...true, this bond he felt was not something he could fully grasp, but it was as genuine as it could ever be. In simpler terms, it was the best an android like him could ever accomplish in the terms of human nature, and Yosuke was proud of it (again, a term of action he used loosely when referring to himself, as it did pertain to that of human feeling). 

"Thanks, Partner. I appreciate the support." he said in a playfully sarcastic way to the other's blunt expression of opinion. Though, either way anybody looked at it, Yosuke truly was screwed. "Maybe. I'm just afraid that I might get a loose screw or something. It's good I have all this clothes over me, otherwise she might get suspicious about these abs of steel." He snickered at that. "If she dents anything though, we'll definitely have a problem." He slipped his hands into his pockets once more, walking down the hall with his friend, shoulder bag slung over his side. 

If and when Yosuke ever suffers legitimate damage where would they go to have him repaired? He thinks of the metalworks place in the shopping district but can't seem to formulate how one would request something so odd. 'Hey if you can make weapons...then you can help fix my robot friend!' Souji is left to only hope Yosuke doesn't get too banged up anytime soon.

Chie brings her down the first set of stairs and then the next onto the second floor, never releasing her vice grip on her wrist. Yukiko does her best not to stumble and fall down the stairs. Chie was much more physically apt than Yukiko, which made matching her pace quite the struggle. Her ochre eyes spot the boys in question from down the hall. "There they are." She says to Chie, hoping that they'll slow down soon.

Chie continued to drag Yukiko along with her until she found the both of them, then ran over to them. "Hanamura! Souji!" she called out, bringing Yukiko along with her as they approached. Yosuke gave a nervous sort of laugh, rubbing the back of his neck as she came closer. Chie continued on. "I forgot to tell you, but there's an interesting tidbit about Inaba! It's best you newbies know anyways, it's nice! Every midnight if you watch TV while it rains, the Midnight Channel turns on and you catch a glimpse of your soulmate! You guys should try it out!" Best to tell them now, it was supposed to rain that night anyways.

At the sound of a girl calling out to them, he stops walking and turns to face them. It was Chie and her dark-haired friend to whom Souji has yet to speak with before. She quickly delves into explaining something called the 'Midnight Channel'. Her words played the concept out to be something bizarre and utterly ridiculous. How exactly can rain effect a television broadcast at a particular time. Soulmate? Souji narrows his eyes at his classmates from beneath the curtain of his bangs. "According to the weather broadcast, tonight it should be raining." Yukiko pipes up in a small voice, deciding to speak seeing that Chie has dragged her into this conversation. She takes note of Seta's near skeptical gaze. Or was it skepticism? He was a hard person to read seeing how impassive looking this guy usually was. 

"I'll look into it." He says tersely, resisting the urge to call out how silly the idea was. The fact that people were so imbecilic as to believe in such things was a marvel in itself. Besides, out of all the things a supernatural occurrence could reveal...why a soulmate? How could it be so specific to an individual? Souji decides that he will honestly have to look into this bullshit for the sake of proving these people wrong. Perchance even witnessing something esoteric.

This Midnight Channel stuff seemed rather odd. Well, possibly more odd than the concept of Yosuke's own existence. But seeing that this was Chie, the girl who had the potential of breaking him even further, and Yukiko, a soul who looked too kind to call bullshit on, he refrained from doing so, and promptly remembered what problem he had on hand: the cracked Trial of the Dragon CD. Dammit. But, it was now or never.

"Ah, that's really interesting and all, just like the CD!" he brought up, the transition of topics as raggedy as a steep mountainside. He swiftly brought it out from his shoulder bag and handed the CD case with said cracked CD inside and put it in Chie's hands. "Here you go, it was pretty cool to watch! Well, see you later, Satonaka!" Heading to leave the scene while he still could, he started to walk past her quickly before Chie stuck out her leg and tripped him, Yosuke groaning in (fake) pain as he landed on the floor with a loud thud. "Motherfu--" He was about to finish his curse before Chie cried out in shock.

"My CD! It's cracked right down the middle! Hanamura ,what the hell did you do to it?!" she said as she glared daggers at the android, who was still on the floor, running his fingers through his hair with a slightly exasperated expression. "I d-didn't mean to, I swear! I was watching it and I just...cracked it. B-By accident, of course!" Yosuke had been watching it while Souji slept, considering that as an android, the burden of sleeping was not placed upon him. And so, he used that time to enjoy himself with the CD, as well as accidentally crack it when putting it back. He was rather clumsy, it was obvious about that. It was no wonder he cracked it. 

"You're gonna pay for this!" she stomped angrily. Yosuke was expecting a kick in the gut before she waved the CD case teasingly, then a smirk spread across her lips. "Beefsteak is on the house, yeah? For all of us?" Yosuke tried not to look like he was going to flip out, getting up and rubbing the back of his head. "Man, that's gonna be so expensive! Can't you wait until next week when I get my paycheck?" he pleaded before she refused. "No! You broke my CD, it's your fault, and you gotta pay for it!" He sighed, shooting a sidelong glance at Souji as if entreating for help. Still, it had to be done. Maybe trying to see about that Midnight Channel stuff wasn't so annoying as it would have been, now being compared to this event.

Souji watches the decent of his friend, about as graceful as a brick being tossed into the air. 'You're screwed' was a painfully accurate assumption on his part, having called out this happening before it even occurred. Chie boils over with a wrath hot enough to melt the polar icecaps and Souji stiffens at the harshness of her words. That was going to cost /a lot/. Damn. He thinks that afterwards he could give Yosuke some money in order to make up for this tragedy but figures that perhaps he had this coming. He catches the sidelong and destitute gaze of the fallen android, shooting him back an expression that mainly reads: 'I-told-you-so.' Souji thinks to say nothing in regards to or in defense of this situation. Seeing that if he were to be the next target of the raging girl, he would actually be hurt. 

Yukiko brings her hand up to her mouth to stifle her laughter as the violent scene unfolds before her. This was certainly not what she had expected from this encounter but it was indeed a pleasant surprise. She thinks for a moment that her mother will be quite cross at her for not returning home for her training. Being treated to a meal would be nice though, oh this was a hard decision to make. She furrows her brow in thought, letting the voices around her blur together for a moment. The inn could wait. "This will be fun." She giggles, leaning towards Chie who still bore her wolfish grin.

Accepting the glance given to him by Souji, he sighed, adjusting the bag at his shoulder before shooting another glance back at his partner before looking down at Chie and Yukiko. "Alright, let's go..." he said a bit grudgingly, his voice but a slight grumble. School was over, and his short shift would start anyways, might as well get the food while he was supposed to be there anyways. It definitely didn't hurt his body, but it hurt at his savings. He had just paid back Souji for the clothes, and now he was having to grab more money out of his paycheck to do this. At least he didn't have to eat, considering how it was physically impossible to. 

The four headed to Junes, Yosuke checking in and grabbing his apron, hanging up his uniform jacket, now only wearing his long-sleeved, cream colored t-shirt with its orange rimmed edges, and his apron over it. He could only afford two steaks, though, and had to give them to Chie and Yukiko, out of courtesy (and the fact that he had, well, broken her pride and joy CD), and gave a serving of takoyaki to his partner. "Sorry dude, can't afford to go all out, I'll get you some next time, I promise." he said to Souji with a slight frown, crossing his arms as he sat at the table, watching Chie enjoy the steal fully. She's probably be asking her for more too, that CD was pretty hard to find, even in Junes.

Yukiko munches on her food quietly, flickering her gaze back and forth between Chie and her meal. Steak had always put Chie in a good mood, no matter the situation. The amount of meat that the other girl could consume would startle most. Yukiko for humors sake would often imagine Chie as a dog of sorts, like a cute bulldog. Dogs will eat just about anything, especially meat. She smiles around her next bite, imagining little bulldog Chie. The frown soon fades as she contemplates how many calories were actually in a steak. She has to keep up a good image, 'for the image of the inn she'll inherit' as her family would say. It was now more out of habit to worry about her weight. Around 3,000 calories, she recalls reading something like that in a magazine. She munches and ponders over saturated fat and various other things you'd find in a nutrition fact box.

Souji beholds the great fund tragedy for Yosuke, whispering to him about how he doesn't mind not getting a steak. It's going to be pretty taxing just to pay for the two girls anyway.

Chie was enjoying it more than anything, considering that she was eating steak, it was free, and she could see Yosuke suffer for cracking her beloved CD. Said Yosuke was lounging in the seat next to Souji, grumbling. The android was just thankful that his partner wasn't so hard on him and didn't mind if he didn't get steak. He was working for money, not to buy Chie food and say it was on the house. He slipped his hands into the pockets at his apron, then sighed, getting up and pushing the chair in with his foot. "Well, I have to get working, my shift starts in a couple minutes. Gotta earn that money back I spent on you..." he said to Chie, the girl glaring back at him. "That's what you get, Hanamura!" she said, sticking her tongue out at him and returning to her food.

Yukiko's phone buzzes in her pocket, she jumps slightly at the unexpected sound. She pulls her phone from her purse and sighs softly at the message from her mother. Luckily she didn't call and yell at her in front of all these people. Although, the message was still gave way to her mother's crossness. She was late, very late. Her mother expected her to be home /immediately/ after school, how...stupid. No. That's a rude thought. It's her duty to help her family with the inn, even if she felt that it was a stifling environment. So much for having a life outside of school she thinks, standing up. "Thank you for the meal. I've got to go. Duty...calls." She says the last part rather strained, her mouth fitted into a tight frown.

When Yukiko got up to take her leave, Chie groaned with disappointment, but understood her friend's responsibilities and sighed. "Alright, well, I'll see you later, Yukiko!" Chie said happily, beaming to try and lighten the mood for the other. Yosuke gave her a wave before leaving to get working, also giving Souji a "I'll see you later, Partner!" After all, if he said something about home, then it would be awkward to explain why they lived together, so 'later' was good enough.

`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`

The group disperses soon after Yukiko heads off and Yosuke returns to work. Souji finds himself back at the Dojima residence, watching the news with Nanako. She seemed rather confused as to the topic of the broadcast, seeing that it was about scandals and affairs. A Mayumi Yamano is the center of attention as the announcer speaks of her involvement with a political secretary, Taro Namatame. Her relationship with the political member lead to the termination of his career and his marriage with an enka singer, Mitsuzu Hiiragi. The tellings of Miss Yamano in the show were brutal and negative, her status as a television announcer and a person having degraded beyond belief.  
"This is boring." Nanako states, flicking the channel off of the dis-sentient news broadcast. She folds her hands in her lap and lets out a sigh, surfing through the channels until she finds the familiar Junes commercial and starts to sing. For some reason, the jingle puts her in high spirits.

Dojima calls not to soon after to inform them that 'something has come up at the station', which means he'll be out late. Souji figures that Dojima is most always working late. Nanako is saddened by this fact, whimpering even as Souji takes her to bed. She ceases her fussing soon after and he heads up to his room.  
He thinks of the midnight channel. It was only around nine o'clock in the night, he'd have to waste some time till midnight if he was going to look into that channel. Perhaps he could finish that awful book about being a man, the first of the 'Forever Macho' series. Souji shakes his head once again at the absurd contents of the novel.

 

While at Junes, he restocked the shelves as always, and had managed to avoid the dreaded, pain-in-the-ass inventory check, thank God. After a while, he went to the electronics section to move some boxes out of the way of an aisle, seeing the news on the television screen about the affair about someone he didn't know, or didn't exactly care about. He watched the report for a moment before he continued on, picking up the boxes in his arms and walking off. The blank television screens always felt so odd to him every time he walked by, but the android always ignored it for the sake of natural apathy.  
Soon, after his shift was over, he walked back to Souji's house, uniform jacket slung over his shoulder as he listened to music with the cheap mp3 he had bought himself. It was a bit late, so Nanako should have been asleep by that time, and Dojima was usually home late anyways. He let himself inside, scanning the living room cautiously for precautions until he closed the door behind him, walking upstairs. He gave Souji's door a couple knocks of courtesy before he opened the door, and went inside. "Hey, Partner! What're you doing?" he inquired, putting his jacket inside the closet and letting out a sigh, sitting down next to the table on the floor, rolling up his sleeve and glancing at his forearm and elbow joint to check for any problems.

"Reading this awful book." he says, not lifting his eyes from the page. Only about eighty pages to shift through and this nonsense will be out of his life. "It's like...around ten now isn't it?" he asks as he flips the page into the next chapter of the novel. "I'm trying to pass time until midnight, so we can check out that thing Chie had mentioned. Which is probably about as bullshit as this book." He takes a deep breath and bends the edge of the page he is on, marking the spot that he was on before closing it. 

Right. THAT awful book. He had never actually been able to read it, so maybe later when Souji was done in it, Yosuke too could revel in its atrocity with his friend. Though, he wasn't much of a book-reading guy; he had only read three books in his entire time of activity: The Alchemist (which had been in Portuguese, luckily that was programmed into him), After Dark (a novel that was very, very odd, but did well to make him self-conscious), and Keba Keba (a children's book that was covered in dirt had half the pages torn out of it). He had found these books along his journey just lying around on the ground and in the trash, nothing much.

"I don't understand why someone would take so much time out of their lives as a writer to harp over this type of thing. /No one/ should have to think this much about being a 'man' that they basically write their own religion. There's probably a Forever Macho cult out there...which is a scary thought." He places the book down on the work desk and heaves a heavy sigh, leaning back on the sofa and allowing his eyes to flutter closed.  
"Why do people pick apart the nature of life? Perhaps...some feel that if they find these simple answers to the fundamentals of humanity, they will become for complete as an individual who is also human. Ugh." He groans furrowing his brows. "I can't believe I spend 1,400 yen on this crap."

"I'm pretty sure there's a cult out there. Not that I want to see it, though." he commented, then had to think about the statement his friend had made. Complete individual? Hm. Seemed like a hard feat, and maybe humans were questioning themselves all the time too. What about his identity, then? This was all too much to think about, he needed to take a breather. Yosuke got up and sat next to Souji on the couch, giving him a sidelong glance.

"This Midnight Channel thing....If I sit in the same room with you, will it work? Or would I have to go somewhere else?" Well, he was an android, he knew the harsh reality that there was probably no soulmate out there for him. Plus, he technically wasn't even a living thing, so maybe he could just sit there with Souji to watch. Not that he wanted to ruin his partner's chances of seeing it, if this bullshit was actually real.

He shrugs and laughs a bit under his breath, "I doubt either of us would see anything. Even if we did move into separate rooms." Souji sits up a bit, staring intently at the small screen of the television in his room. "Think about it. How exactly can a TV be so specific to a person anyway? How can /rain/ of all things effect a broadcast at a specific time? There's next to no chance anything will happen...why would people believe in this? It's even got a title, 'The Midnight Channel', very straight forward."

Yosuke listens to the others reasoning, which was far from sophistry, he definitely had to say. Then, he concluded with a short "True." to concur with his partner. The android crossed his arms and let out a sigh, glancing at the small tv before looking back at Souji. "It seems like it's exclusive to Inaba or something, if that isn't sketchy enough." Then again, the Dark Hour seemed exclusive to the area around THAT school, the one that had used to be the laboratories. Inaba seemed to have its own little quirks too. 

Souji shakes his head, thinking back on how Chie seemed very intent on informing them, as if she were positive that something would appear for her on this channel. Ridiculous. Who even started this tale anyway? Thunder rolls in the distance, humming about the sky as rain scurries out from the clouds at the sound. The water clicks against the roof softly as the storm begins. "Here comes the magic rain."

Soon, the rain started to patter against the roof and windows, Yosuke looking up in response to the sound for a moment before looking back at Souji. "Hm, well, all we need to complete this equation is midnight to roll around." For Yosuke that was easy, as time went by just the same for him all the time, he just would be there to maybe help kill the time with Souji to at least help it pass until midnight. It was a wonder they were even planning to attempt this. "What if /does/ work, though? Are you gonna go after your 'destined soulmate'?" he asked with a chuckle, using his fingers as the quotes when he says that little statement.

Souji squints at him in mock offense, "As if I'm letting a TV dictate who my eternal life partner is." He says with a exaggerated huff and another askance look to the TV screen again. Souji's act of fake offense soon dissolves into giggles.  
"Besides, what if it's like some kid I met in grade school that I'll never be able to see again. Like, 'Hey Souji, look at the love life you can't have because you move so often'. That'd just be a kick in the teeth. This is /beyond/ stupid." He says, slightly miffed at the topic he roused from the conversation regarding the silly 'Midnight Channel' nonsense.  
Yosuke laughs with him, though could feel the slight shift upon breaching the topic. Still, he knew what Souji meant. Either that or the guy was completely bent upon the fact that this was not going to work. Period. Yosuke was too, though knowing that things like the Dark Hour existed, he wasn't as hell-bent on calling bullshit as his partner was. Yet, he couldn't act so credulous still. 

Time for Souji doesn't pass as seamlessly, but it moves on no matter how slow it may feel. In the spaces between the remaining hours to the supposed event, he fusses over various trivial things in his own life and life in general. Accessing the great maze of human existence is relaxing in some unusual way, at least Souji thinks so. He's always been one to soul search, never having many people to communicate with in terms of what is considered 'normal' conversation. At this point in life Souji hardly knew what the illusive 'normal conversation' even consisted of.  
"Well, It's 11:55." he states the time as he pulls back the blinds with his fingers, steely eyes casting over what little of the residential area he could see in the heavy rain. The streets and houses were painted with a cinereal hue, such a gloomy and ashen color even as lightening spills out from the clouds in the distance. With a soft sigh he peels his fingers from the curtains, allowing them to drape over the window once again. He paces the room for a moment before standing near the TV, as if standing closer would enhance whatever may or may-not be about to occur.

Time moved on and on, the hands on the clock inching closer and closer to their desired time of 12, his eyes often shifting to the clock to see the moderate progression. Upon reaching five minutes before that, though, Souji pulled the blinds down and the room became rather dim, and the night haze began to overtake the area. Yosuke could almost feel a subtle shift in the area, but couldn't tell what it was. It was...odd, though. Different. 11:58, the clock read. 

11:59 the next instant. And then all too soon, when the clack of the hands snapping in place on the hour sounded, Yosuke half expected the world to go its eerie green, and the moon enlarge. Of course, this was Inaba, and he knew that wouldn't happen. Yet, as soon as his thoughts dispersed, the small tv screen started to fizzle and crackle with static, the android's brown eyes widening as he sprung up from the couch to go look at the screen. "Holy shit, no way." he commented. This was absurd. Soon, a hazy figure appeared on the screen. A lady, it seemed. Yet, he couldn't tell who it exactly was, the static bringing the image in and out of focus. "Dude you're seeing this too?"

The look of utter astonishment that graces Souji's shape is beyond comprehension. He tenses as the long awaited midnight crawls in, the TV humming to life due to some unseen force. A chill runs up his spine and he can't bring himself to look away as the blurred image of a distressed woman comes into view on the screen. She looks familiar in some sense, the kind of familiarity that is akin to someone unimportant that one may or may-not have ever seen before. Nonetheless it's eerie and chills the teen to his very core. Souji feels as if the woman depicted in the channel didn't have anything to do with a soulmate, this scene seemed much darker than that. She stumbles about a murky area in the picture, her voice but a low tone of buzzing and static. His mouth moves to respond to Yosuke's remark, but no sound arises from his throat. It's almost as if breathing would make the magic of this situation dissipate.  
'Reach out to the truth', a quote from his strange dreams comes to him in this time of wonder. Souji extends and arm to the television set, his fingers brushing against the screen as if to contact the woman seemingly trapped inside. The image fades, rippling even as if he's just prodded a body of water instead of solid glass. Souji presses his fingers /literally/ inside of the screen.

This was astonishing. Sure, maybe there had been that looming thought that this happening could have been true, but the more odd part of it was that this wasn't the soulmate sort of vibe that was emanating out of this thing. The woman seemed troubled, and the atmosphere dark as the television screen continued to blur with static and crackling. When Souji reached his hand out to try and touch the screen, he had no comment.

That is, until his hand started to go through the fucking screen. 

"Ah." He squeaks as he steps a tad bit closer to the television in which his hand is now buried inside. For a moment he's relatively calm about having a hand inside of a screen that is about as tangible as water. This moment of calm erupts quickly into a burst of panic as the unusual force that makes this screen so very bizarre begins to pull him in. Souji would have been plunged completely into the TV if only the screen were larger, luckily he's only stuck in to his shoulder. "I'm stuck." He whispers harshly, pressing his free hand against the top of the TV to try and gain some leverage. The android watched with disbelief. He didn't flip the fuck out at first, mostly because Souji was initially so calm about it for a reason he knew naught. And then, the television started to swallow his arm and Yosuke panicked with the other. Thankfully the television was really that small, because his partner was stuck there, unable to be taken fully by the pulling force on the other end, whatever it was.  
Was he going to loose a limb to a TV? He doubts he could reattach it as easily as Yosuke did with his fallen appendage. Despite his concerns, no pain is caused from having his arm sucked inside the screen. It feels cold and makes his skin prickle with a near electric sensation, but no pain. Not yet at least.

His full reaction came much later, and it was then the android began to express his discomfort of the situation in the most eloquent way possible. "DUDE WHAT THE SHIT?! WHY" He didn't even finish his own sentence before he went over to his stuck partner, grabbing him by the shoulder and grabbing Souji's upper arm that was submerged in the television, his hand disappearing inside as well. Still, he started to pull his friend out, struggling for a moment before the force, as if prompted by something, went loose and let go, the two falling backwards, Yosuke falling to the ground with his partner, the loud thuds sounding as they came with impact on the floor. "Dude..." he half-groaned, sitting up to glance at the infernal television screen. What the hell just happened?

The television releases him from it's vice grip with the help of Yosuke and in a near comical fashion, they tumble into the floor in a panicky heap. A moment passes before Souji is even able to draw himself back into reality as he lays there in the floor of his room. He stares up at the ceiling, finding no answers in the whiteness above. The concept that Chie had explained sounded silly but this was just terrifying, it's not every day that a TV just up and decides to munch on the viewers. "Well...that was unexpected." He mumbles partially unsure if anything after the previous situation is even real anymore. With a shaky breath he raises himself up and looks to the arm that had been absorbed by the screen. No part of it was missing, not a nail nor tuft of peach fuzz hair along his skin. Everything appeared to be intact yet he still crinkles his fingers tentatively. Each one bent and curled as it naturally should which is a relief. Souji rubs his imperforate arm awkwardly as his eyes shift hesitantly to the now blank television screen. 

"Unexpected? No kidding. You almost got eaten by the TV." he said incredulously, sitting up and giving a scoff to his partner who laid next to him on the floor. "This Midnight Channel stuff is some freaky shit." he said curtly, expressing the conclusion he had come across after a short moment of shallow pondering. After all, when televisions start to eat your friends, you know you're in some real deep shit. And not the philosophical thinking kind either. Just the outlandishly weird kind.  
Yosuke glanced over to Souji's arm as well, seeing that it looked rather normal, nothing out of place or anything, no scratches or bruises. Well, maybe they'd get some on their backs from their fall, but that was out of the question at the moment. At least that odd occurrence didn't give his partner any injuries on his arm, or unexpected visits to the hospital. But now, all they could do was think about what the hell just happened, because Yosuke was wondering that just as much as his partner was. 

Chie most certainly had no idea about this, that or this was a sick joke. No. There's no way she could have been entirely aware of this type of event. She spoke of the midnight channel as if it were a rumor, a silly game. Not a potentially dangerous event that could lead to unknowing souls being drawn inside of whatever void lies beyond. Souji is thankful for the limited size of the screen he ran into, God only knows what is really inside of...whatever that was. It made no logical sense and Souji couldn't wrap his brain around it no matter how hard he tried to. The gears in his head spun and spun as he stared intently at the now normal TV.  
He listens carefully for a moment, redirecting his thoughts to something more commonplace than the present events. The panic and stumble had made quite the rucuss. Hopefully no one downstairs was roused by the sound. From what he could hear in his silence, there wasn't any movement coming from the lower area. Thankfully Nanako hadn't woken from her sleep, this would be one awkward plight to explain to a child. He didn't quite feel up for the No-Nanako-Get-Out-Of-My-Room-I-Nearly-Lost-My-Arm-To-The-Demon-TV-P.S-This-Is-My-Robot-Friend-Yosuke.

"Do you think we'd be better off discussing this in the morning, Partner?" he asked, keeping his gaze on the television screen. He knew that it was late and perhaps his friend needed some time to think about the situation in which the television tried to consume him whole. Maybe the morning would offer a clearer mind for Souji to think with, as well as more people to tell (aka Chie and Yukiko) about what had happened with this Midnight Channel viewing attempt.

"I don't think any amount of contemplation will make sense of...whatever just happened." He stands up slowly, casting a cautious glance at the TV once more as he shuffles past it. "This'll be a fun topic to bring up to the girls. 'Hey guys I didn't find my soulmate but a portal into the fifth demential pocket of hell.' " He says, laughing wryly at his imagination's take on how the conversation might play out. Souji settles himself into the futon and wonders if sleep will even be a thing that night given the bizarre nature of the previous events. Knowing his luck he'll have more mysterious dreams about the strange individuals in the 'Velvet Room', perhaps this was a part of the mystery they had depicted in the cards. He knew not the answer, nor if his dreams had any correlation with this midnight channel stuff. Both were particularly curious events, so perhaps there was a connection. "Goodnight, don't let the TV bite." He mumbles as he closes his eyes, huffing out a small bout of laughter before willing himself to sleep. 

It definitely would be interesting to bring it up to the girls. However, would they even believe them? That was the biggest concern he had to express there. After all, it wasn't every day a television turned on mysteriously at midnight and almost swallowed someone. Then, he had to wonder what exactly lay for them on the other side of the screen; if they could discover where that pulling force came from and exactly led to, then what would it be? Where would it take them? Or maybe it would just swallow them up for good and just kill them off. That too. Whatever. Those thoughts could be saved for later. "Yeah, goodnight, Partner." Yosuke was going to stay away from that television for a long while now. Throughout the night, he was left to ponder at the same time he tightened the screws at his knee joint, his fall that day having loosened them somewhat.


End file.
